Watch the committee hearing broadcast below:
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January 6 Committee hearings as it happened: Hearings begin into US Capitol riots
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That’s all from us
By Marta Pascual Juanola
And that’s where we’ll end today’s coverage. You can follow the latest national news on our live blog, anchored by Ashleigh McMillan.
Here’s a quick recap of today’s hearing:
Trump’s former Attorney-General, Bill Barr, called the former president’s plan to contest a fair election “bullshit” and it led to his decision to leave Trump’s White House.
The former president invested millions of dollars of campaign funds in knowingly spreading false information to convince Americans the election was corrupt, despite warnings from senior government leaders.
Trump met with retired United States Army lieutenant general Michael Flynn, attorney Sidney Powell and politician Rudy Giuliani in the White House alone days before the Capitol riots, and discussed a number of steps, including seizing voting machines and rerunning elections.
Trump’s daughter Ivanka Trump told the committee she had accepted the view of former attorney-general Bill Barr that there was no fraud sufficient to overturn the election.
The committee investigating the riots believes the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers took an active role in instigating the attempted insurgency. Many members of the groups were inspired by Trump’s tweet in December 2020 telling supporters to come to the Capitol on January 6, 2021.
A British filmmaker giving evidence during the hearing said about 200 Proud Boys had begun marching towards the Capitol before Trump even began his speech.
- Officer Caroline Edwards, who was attacked with pepper spray and tear gas, described the scenes on January 6, 2021 as out of a movie. She recalled seeing fellow officers bleeding on the ground in what looked like a war zone, and engaging in hand-to-hand combat for hours.
The hearings will resume next week and focus on the misinformation that led to the mob storming the building. It will also examine Trump’s role in the matter.
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Those involved in ‘attempted coup’ must be held accountable: Clinton
By Marta Pascual Juanola
Former secretary of state and presidential candidate Hillary Clinton has taken to social media to call for those behind the attempted insurgency at the Capitol to be held accountable.
Clinton, who ran against Trump and lost in the 2016 election, said Americans had the right to choose their own leaders.
“We can’t let anyone take that right away from us,” she wrote.
“The people involved in the criminal conspiracy to overturn the will of America’s voters — which culminated in the attempted coup of January 6 — must be held accountable.”
Timeline of Capitol riots shown at hearing
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A new 11-minute timeline of the events has been shown at the select committee in to the January 6 Capitol riots. You can watch it below, but beware it contains offensive language and violent scenes.
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Hearing concludes
By Marta Pascual Juanola
The first hearing of the Capitol riots investigation has now concluded but bear with us as we continue to bring you more information and analysis for a while longer.
Chairman Bennie Thompson has indicated the second committee hearing scheduled for next week will focus on the misinformation that led the Proud Boys, Oath Keepers, and others to storm the Capitol and seek to put a stop to the transfer of power following Trump’s election defeat.
“We’re going to take a close look at the first part of Trump’s attack on the rule of law when he hit the fuse that ultimately resulted in the violence of January 6,” he said.
“Without objection and with that, the committee stands adjourned.”
‘Absolute war zone’: Officer describes Capitol chaos
By Marta Pascual Juanola
Officer Caroline Edwards has just described how she was sprayed with pepper spray and tear gas as she was holding her position outside the Capitol in what resembled a war scene.
Edwards said she was at the bike rack at the bottom of the Pennsylvania Avenue walkway where a crowd led by Proud Boys figure Joseph Biggs was gathering.
“There were some who had military fatigues on. We could see people with bulletproof vests on you know, things like that,” Edwards said. “It didn’t seem you know, extremely cohesive, but they had gathered there together.”
A crowd chanting “f--- Antifa” then joined the group and started targeting officers protecting the building. At that point, Edwards told her supervisor: “Sarge, I think we’re going to need a few more people down here”.
How the riot unfolded
By Marta Pascual Juanola
The committee hearing has just been told about how the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers took an active role in instigating the attempted insurgency.
Many members of the groups were inspired by Trump’s tweet in December 2020 telling supporters to come to the Capitol on January 6, 2021.
“But the extremists took it a step further, they viewed this tweet as a call to arms,” the hearing was told.
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A day after the tweet was published, the Proud Boys created a chat called The Ministry of Self-Defence where they established a command structure in anticipation of January 6, 2021.
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Officer knocked unconscious in Capitol attack testifies
By Marta Pascual Juanola
Officer Caroline Edwards was standing near bike racks at the perimeter of the Capitol, trying to prevent the mob from advancing when she was knocked unconscious.
She is testifying about her experience on January 6, 2021.
I was called a lot of things on January 6, 2021 and the days thereafter. I was called Nancy Pelosi’s dog, called incompetent, called a hero and a villain. I was called a traitor to my country, my oath, and my constitution. In actuality, I was none of those things. I was an American standing face to face with other Americans, asking myself many times how we had gotten here.
I had been called names before, but never had my patriotism or duty been called into question.
I who got up every day, no matter how early the hour, or how late I got in the night before, to put on my uniform, and to protect America symbol of democracy. I whose literal blood, sweat and tears were shed that day, defending the building that I spent countless holidays and weekends working in.
They dared to question my honour. They dared to question my loyalty. And they dared to question my duty. I’m a proud American, and I will gladly sacrifice everything to make sure that the America my grandfather defended is here for many years to come.
Hearing resumes
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The committee hearing has now resumed.
We will bring you the latest shortly.
‘Your dishonour will remain’: Cheney to Republicans
By Marta Pascual Juanola
During this first hour of the hearing, we’ve heard mostly from committee chairman Bennie Thompson and member Liz Cheney.
Cheney, daughter of former vice-president Dick Cheney, is one of only two Republicans on the House committee investigating the riots and has been ostracised by her own party for taking part in the probe.
During her address at the hearing, she took aim at her fellow Republicans over their support for Trump.
“As our founding fathers recognised democracy is fragile and people in positions of public trust are duty-bound to defend it, to step forward when action is required,” she said.
“In our country, we don’t swear an oath to an individual or a political party. We take our oath to defend the United States Constitution and that oath must mean something.
“Tonight, I say this to my Republican colleagues who are defending the indefensible. There will come a day when Donald Trump is gone, but your dishonour will remain.”
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Insurrection? Sedition? A legal guide to the riots
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More than 850 people have been criminally charged in connection with the riot at the Capitol.
Most are accused of conventional offences such as trespassing and assault, while 16 members of two right-wing groups are facing a more exotic charge: seditious conspiracy.
Just before he left office, Trump was impeached by the House of Representatives for incitement of insurrection but was acquitted of the charge by the Senate. The legal terminology around the unprecedented events that shocked Americans and the rest of the world requires some unpacking.
What is insurrection?
The term broadly means a revolt against an established government, usually employing violence. However, the federal statute against it — which is rooted in the American Civil War of the 1860s and provides up to 10 years’ imprisonment for inciting, assisting or engaging in insurrection — doesn’t define the term, so the parameters of the law are unclear. It’s been prosecuted rarely.
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