Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson said that he plans to publicly release all non-sensitive Jan. 6 footage, which amounts to roughly 44,000 hours of video.
The move is considered to be something that could be done so that Johnson could please his right-wing colleagues. GOP Rep. Matt Gaetz led the charge in pushing the Republican Party's leadership to release the recordings.
Jan. 6 Video Footage
However, other lawmakers have stepped onto the bandwagon, including GOP Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene and Chip Roy. The speaker's decision comes as he is trying to curry as much favor with the group after using a stopgap bill to keep the government from shutting down due to a lack of funding.
In a statement, Johnson said that when he ran for speaker, he pledged to make publicly accessible to the American people the 44,000 hours of video footage from Capitol Hill security that was taken on Jan. 6, 2021.
He noted that truth and transparency are critical and he said that they would begin immediately posting the video recordings on a public website. Johnson added that a public viewing room would ensure that every single citizen would have the chance to see every minute of the videos uncensored, as per CNN.
The House speaker said that the release of the video recordings will provide millions of Americans, criminal defendants, public interest organizations, and the media the opportunity to see for themselves exactly what happened on that day. This would come rather than having to solely rely upon the interpretation of a small group of government officials.
Johnson said that the first tranche of video recordings, roughly 90 hours, will be released on a public committee website on Friday. The rest of the footage would then be uploaded to the website over the next several months.
The GOP-led House Administration Committee has spent the last few months making the video recordings available by appointment only to members of the media, criminal defendants, and a limited number of other people.
Releasing Tens of Thousands of Recordings
The footage shows some of the fighting up-close and provides a bird's eye view of the Capitol complex as hundreds of supporters of former United States President Donald Trump stormed the Capitol building. They supposedly violently attacked police officers and broke in through windows and doors, according to Yahoo News.
The decision to expand access to the general public is making good on his prior promise made last month to the most conservative members of his party. In response to the decision, Trump posted on his Truth Social platform, praising Johnson for "having the courage and fortitude" to release the recordings.
The House speaker added that while the recordings will be made publicly available, private citizens' faces on the footage will be blurred. He noted that this was done to "avoid any persons from being targeted for retaliation."
The House Administration Committee said that members of the public will be given the chance to make appointments to view the footage on terminals. However, priority will be given to lawmakers, Jan. 6 defendants and their lawyers, Jan. 6 victims, American news outlets, and non-profits, said Axios.
