(MENAFN) The United States House of Representatives has initiated the public release of more than 44,000 hours of video footage from the January 6, 2021, riot at the United States Capitol. House Speaker Mike Johnson, a Louisiana Republican, emphasized the commitment to "truth and transparency" as the primary motivation behind making the extensive video archive accessible to the public.
The riot unfolded as thousands of then-President Donald Trump's supporters gathered in Washington while Congress met to certify the 2020 election results in favor of Democrat Joe Biden. The rioters breached the Capitol, disrupting the joint session, and the incident has since been labeled an "insurrection against our democracy" by Democrats.
Announcing the release on social media platform X (formerly Twitter), Johnson stated, "Today, we will begin immediately posting video on a public website and move as quickly as possible to add to the website nearly all of the footage, more than 40,000 hours." Additionally, a public viewing room has been established to ensure that citizens can access the videos uncensored.
To safeguard the privacy of private citizens, Johnson mentioned that the videos will undergo processing to blur faces, preventing individuals from becoming targets of retaliation. Approximately 5 percent of the footage containing sensitive security information about the Capitol's architecture will be omitted from the release.
Representative Barry Loudermilk of Georgia, who chairs the House Administration Subcommittee on Oversight, emphasized the importance of transparency, accountability, and factual information. The move to make the extensive video footage public aims to provide the American people with an unfiltered account of the events and foster a comprehensive understanding of the Capitol riot.
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