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- Home arraignment officials released previously unseen footage of the siege of the Capitol on Wednesday.
- The footage showed how close the rioters were to lawmakers, as well as to the heroism of Officer Eugene Goodman.
- During the trial on Tuesday, impeachment officials also showed graphic images of the Capitol riot.
- Visit Insider’s Business section for more stories.
Democratic impeachment officials during the Senate trial of former President Donald Trump on Wednesday showed never-before-seen security footage taken from inside the Capitol during the Jan.6 uprising.
New Capitol security footage showed how close the rioters got to the Senate chamber and how quickly they overpowered a lone policeman who attempted to use pepper spray as a deterrent after smashing windows and climbed into the Capitol.
Charging representative Stacey Plaskett of the US Virgin Islands said one of the insurgents could be seen in full tactical body armor and wielding a metal baseball bat, while others wore shields riot control.
“As the rioters reached the top of the stairs, they were within 100 feet of where Vice President Pence was taking refuge with his family,” Plaskett said. Rioters chanted “hang Mike Pence” amid the attack on Capitol Hill on Jan.6, as Trump pressured the vice president to quash the election results. Pence lacked the authority to go along with Trump’s demands, and the president sharply criticized the vice president for refusing his request.
The footage also showed Officer Eugene Goodman, who was widely praised for his handling of the riot and for keeping rioters away from the Senate Chamber, urging GOP Senator Mitt Romney of Utah to turn around. and get to safety.
PBS NewsHour’s Yamiche Alcindor Tuesday Morning first reported the existence of images before the start of the pleadings.
Alcindor quoted a Democratic source who said the video would show “how close the Trump crowd was to senators, members of Congress and staff.”
An aide told the Washington Post that the video would show “extreme violence,” adding: “It will show the extent of what Donald Trump has unleashed on our Capitol.”
The footage is part of the House Directors’ video presentation during Trump’s impeachment trial. On January 13, the House of Representatives accused Trump of “inciting insurgency” in connection with the murderous siege on Capitol Hill.
Charging officials also released unseen radio communications between law enforcement officials on Wednesday, in which officers described being attacked and called for reinforcements.
On Tuesday, the Senate trial began with a debate over the constitutionality of holding a trial in the first place, given that Trump is no longer in office and therefore cannot be removed via conviction. Fifty-six senators voted the trial was constitutional, while 44 voted it not, paving the way for oral argument to begin Wednesday.
House impeachment officials said there was no “January exception” to impeachment, as it would mean presidents could act with impunity during their last days in office. Trump’s actions are beyond reproach, they said, because he led them during his tenure. Moreover, impeachment is not the only objective of impeachment. Civil servants can be prevented from performing their duties again if they are convicted.
Trump’s defense attorneys relied heavily on the constitutionality argument, and they also said he was deprived of due process and the Senate was not the proper jurisdiction to “try” Trump .
Home impeachment officials have previously relied on the use of video to argue against Trump. At the start of the trial on Tuesday, the House’s senior impeachment representative, Maryland Representative Jamie Raskin, showed graphic images of the Capitol Riot. It depicted Trump supporters verbally and physically assaulting police officers, juxtaposing violence and chaos with the president’s speech before the riot.
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