House Speaker Johnson's Alleged Attempt to Obscure January 6 Footage Raises Concerns
House Speaker Johnson aims to safeguard identities of individuals involved in the January 6 Capitol attack by blurring their faces in the released footage, as stated on Tuesday This measure intends to protect them from potential repercussions by the Justice Department
House Speaker Mike Johnson announced on Tuesday that footage of the US Capitol attack on January 6, 2021 will be released to the public with the faces of the mob blurred to protect them from the Justice Department. He emphasized during a news conference that he aims to prevent rioters from facing prosecution.
Johnson stated that they were systematically releasing the images as fast as possible. "As you are aware, we have to blur the faces of individuals who were involved in the events of that day to protect them from retaliation, potential charges by the DOJ, and other concerns and issues," he added.
The Department of Justice's special counsel Jack Smith announced the indictment of former President Donald Trump on Tuesday, August 1, 2023, at a press conference in Washington.
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He added, "It's a slow process to get it done."
The footage from the Capitol's security cameras has been obtained by federal investigators and prosecutors, who have used it to charge and prosecute members of the mob that day.
However, members of the public and online investigators have previously been successful in identifying individuals from images captured during the riot. Blurring the faces of individuals at the Capitol on that day could hinder the possibility of receiving further tips from the public. Raj Shah, a spokesperson for Johnson, emphasized in a statement posted online that the speaker wants to blur faces in order to prevent any form of retaliation from non-governmental actors.
The public viewing room footage will blur faces to protect private citizens from retaliation by non-governmental actors. The Department of Justice has raw footage from January 6, 2021. As of the latest update, 683 people have pleaded guilty to federal charges, and 127 individuals have been found guilty through trials in DC's district court.
The Justice Department has requested assistance from the public in identifying over 300 individuals at the Capitol on that day. The FBI, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and Washington, DC police are offering a reward of half a million dollars for information leading to the arrest of the individual responsible for planting pipe bombs near the Republican National Committee and Democratic National Committee on January 5, 2021.
In mid-November, Johnson announced his intention to release Capitol Hill security footage that does not contain sensitive information, with no mention of blurring out faces.
"When I ran for speaker, I made a commitment to provide the American people with access to the 44,000 hours of Capitol Hill security footage recorded on January 6, 2021," Johnson stated. He also announced plans for a public viewing room, emphasizing that every citizen would have the opportunity to watch the uncensored footage in its entirety."
