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Good Morning. News reports of the attack on the Capitol – many based on videos recorded by rioters – offer new details.
It’s hard to imagine any other crime that the perpetrators have so thoroughly and publicly documented.
The people who participated in the Capitol attack on January 6th posted thousands of videos of it on Parler, a social network. Journalists and other witnesses have also posted dozens of their own videos. In the past few days, news organizations have been studying these videos and starting to post more details about what happened.
This rebuilding work is important because the attack was a pivotal moment in US history: a mob instigated by the President of the United States stormed the convention halls to prevent the president’s election defeat from being confirmed. During the attack, the mob killed a police officer and were looking for members of Congress.
Below, my colleagues and I have summarized the key points in the latest news, and we’ve provided links for people who want to go deeper:
The mob got very close to the legislature. In several places, rioters were meters from members of Congress, separated only by a small group of police officers. This is shown by a multimedia article in the Washington Post. A few rioters passed within 100 feet of Vice President Mike Pence, who was hiding with his family in an office near the Senate Chamber.
Many of the attackers openly discussed violence and lawmakers feared for their lives. “Pull them out!” shouted a man in the Capitol, referring to the legislature; Another group sang “Hang Mike Pence!” As the mob approached, members of Congress hiding in the chamber of the house phoned family members and asked each other to remove their pins so that the rioters could not identify them.
Rioters abused the police. A man with an American flag shouted profanely at a number of Washington police officers that his five-year-old son was more of a man than she was. Others hit, knocked over and pushed past officers and threatened to kill one with his own weapon.
The Capitol cops were often outnumbered and chose not to use force. In the Post video, Officer Eugene Goodman, faced with a large group, lured the mob into pursuit – away from the Senate Chamber.
Later, after the senators were evacuated, a lone officer politely asked the rioters to leave the chamber. “Any chance I can get you guys to leave the Senate wing?” the officer asks in a video recorded by Luke Mogelson from the New Yorker. “I just want to let you guys know that this is the holiest place.”
Only after more supporters arrived, some from the DC National Guard, did the officials stop the riot.
Some rioters may have gathered information. The New York video shows a group of men shooting through Senate desks and taking pictures. One says he’s looking for something that he can use “against those bastards”.
The FBI is also investigating whether a Pennsylvania woman has stolen computer equipment from Spokeswoman Nancy Pelosi’s office and is planning to sell it to Russian agents. The woman reported to the police yesterday.
The mob felt empowered by Republican leaders. As the rioters pushed their way down a hallway, one of them shouted to a police officer: “We’re listening to your boss: Trump.” And when a couple of men looked through documents in the Senate, one said, referring to Senator Ted Cruz, “I think Cruz would want us to do this, so I think we’re good.”
Several active and retired military personnel were part of the mob. The FBI is investigating the role of the Oath Guards, an anti-government militia composed largely of former law enforcement and military veterans. (In response, the Pentagon says it will step up internal efforts to combat right-wing extremism.)
Another rioter was Klete Keller, a swimmer who won the gold medal. One of Keller’s former Olympic teammates described him, according to The Post, as an “aimless, rudderless 30-year-old who … became a perfect candidate for falling into a radical, conservative rabbit hole of conspiracy theorists and rioters involved in rioting”. Since the uprising, Keller has told a former coach that he “had no intention of doing any of this,” the Times reported.
At least 70 people have been arrested so far and charged with participating in the attack. Authorities say they are still looking for information, as evidenced by this FBI poster with photos of suspects.
A morning reading: Nine years ago, master climber Lai Chi-wai was paralyzed from the waist down in a car accident. It didn’t stop him from climbing a skyscraper.
From the opinion: Jamelle Bouie and Jennifer Senior have columns.
Lived life: Harry Joseph Brant was a founding member of the next generation jet set and a new looking “it” boy known for pushing the boundaries of gender stereotype in both cosmetics and clothing. He died at the age of 24.
ART AND IDEAS
Canada will finally have a champion
Canada invented the sport of ice hockey, and much of the country is obsessed with it. But the country’s professional teams have had some difficult decades: since the Montreal Canadiens 28 years ago, no Canadian team has won the Stanley Cup – the trophy that goes to the National Hockey League champions. Canada’s longest drought to date was just six years.
This year promises to be different. Even if an American team wins the cup, Canada can at least crown their own champions.
With the Canadian government restricting travel to and from the United States, where the pandemic is worse, the NHL has reorganized its divisions – including all seven Canadian teams in the new Northern Division.
The Canadian teams will only play against each other during the regular season, and the top four will then meet in the playoffs this spring. Whichever team appears – the Canadian champions – meet the three winners of the US divisions in a Stanley Cup round.
“Every night will feel like Saturday night,” Hockey Night in Canada, “coast to coast,” the general manager of the Calgary Flames told The National Post, referring to a popular television show. “It may only be one season, but I think it will be great.”
The season started last week, and odds makers like the Toronto Maple Leafs, who have been known to have had problems for much of the last half century.
PLAY, WATCH, EAT
What to cook
The pangram from yesterday’s Spelling Bee was a collector’s item. Today’s puzzle is up – or you can play online if you have a game subscription.
Here is today’s mini crossword and a clue: Fly Traps (four letters).
Thank you for spending part of your morning with The Times. Until tomorrow. – David
One correction: Yesterday’s newsletter contained the wrong location for an Egyptian hospital that had run out of oxygen. It was in El Husseineya, not Cairo.
PS The recent print editions of The Times have typically had a large number of banner headlines. Some of them can be explored here – from the presidential election to the introduction of vaccines to the Capitol uprising.
You can find today’s print homepage here.
Today’s episode of “The Daily” features conversations with Trump’s supporters about the Capitol uprising. Actor Bryan Cranston breaks his method down on the latest “Sway”.
Claire Moses, Ian Prasad Philbrick, Tom Wright-Piersanti and Sanam Yar contributed to The Morning. You can reach the team at [email protected].
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