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Newly released video shows pro-Trump Capitol rioters using chairs and garbage cans to stop police closing an automatic door

More than 700 people have been charged for participating in the Capitol riot

Graig Graziosi
Tuesday 23 November 2021 18:16 GMT
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Trump supporters attack police near closing gate

A newly released video shows Donald Trump supporters at the Capitol riot using chairs and trash cans to stop police from blocking them with a metal gate.

The video was released by the US Justice Department and will be used as evidence in the prosecution of Capitol riot defendants.

The footage shows Capitol police officers gathered behind a slowly-closing metal gate in an interior section of the US Capitol complex. Trump supporters on the other side of the gate begin sliding trash cans and chairs under the door to stop it from closing fully.

It appears that a safety mechanism triggers in the sliding gate, and the gate begins to open again. At one point as the gate is re-opening, a Trump supporter picks up a trash can and hurls it directly at a police officer, who then disappears off screen. Realising they won't be able to stop the rioters with the gate, the Capitol police then retreat further into the complex.

Once they pass the gate, some Trump supporters continue to pursue the Capitol police, while many more just mill around the halls chatting.

More than 700 people have been charged in connection with the Capitol riot, with nearly 130 entering guilty pleas thus far.

Jacob Chansley, the "QAnon Shaman," was one of the defendants who entered a guilty plea. He has been sentenced to 41 months in federal prison. John Pierce, an attorney who represents about 25 other 6 January defendants, has taken over as Mr Chansley's lawyer and suggested he may directly appeal his client's conviction.

While the courts slowly deal with the hundreds of Capitol riot suspects who have been arrested, the congressional committee investigating the attack has been busy issuing subpoenas to drag people close to Mr Trump in for questioning.

On Monday, the committee issued subpoenas for right-wing operative Roger Stone, conspiracy theorist TV host Alex Jones, and Mr Trump's latest spokesman, Taylor Budowich. A similar subpoena was issued for Steve Bannon, who ignored the legal filing and was subsequently arrested.

Former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows also refused to comply with the subpoena, but has thus far not been cited for contempt. Former White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany, ex-senior adviser Stephen Miller and disgraced former US General Michael Flynn, who served as Mr Trump's national security adviser, were also given subpoenas.

Democratic Congressman Bennie Thompson, who chairs the committee, said it believes that the individuals whom have been subpoenaed "have relevant information and we expect them to cooperate fully with our effort to get answers for the American people about the violence of January 6th."

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