As Democrats use the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol protests to portray former President Donald Trump as an “insurrectionist,” House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) recently released about 90 hours of Capitol security footage pertaining to the protests of that day — a move celebrated by the former president.
The American people can always be trusted to evaluate information and make their own judgments and decisions. When bureaucrats and partisan activists withhold data to advance a narrative, it erodes trust in our institutions. We must restore that trust. https://t.co/htPwMuk2qz
— Speaker Mike Johnson (@SpeakerJohnson) November 18, 2023
On Truth Social, Trump praised Johnson, saying that the House speaker’s move took “courage and fortitude,” as reported by The Washington Times.
“Congratulations to Speaker of the House, Mike Johnson for having the Courage and Fortitude to release all of the J6 Tapes, which will explicitly reveal what really happened on January 6th,” Trump wrote.
For years, the left has spread the falsehood that the Jan. 6 protests were an “insurrection” caused by Trump. Democrats have consistently refused to show the American people any footage revolving around the Capitol protests.
As such, House Republicans have made the release of Jan. 6 footage one of their top priorities, with former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) having provided then-Fox News host Tucker Carlson access to 40,000 hours of Capitol security footage surrounding Jan. 6.
McCarthy had said that he would release all Jan. 6 Capitol security footage to the public but came up short as he was ousted from the speakership by eight Republicans and the entire House Democratic conference.
Johnson plans to pick up where McCarthy left off by releasing 40,000 hours of footage in the forthcoming months. The House speaker said that not all Jan. 6 Capitol security footage will be released because about 5% of it could “involve sensitive security information related to the building architecture.”
Trump’s celebration of Johnson releasing the Jan. 6 footage comes as the former president defends himself in court cases brought forth by President Joe Biden’s weaponized Department of Justice (DOJ), which is trying to bar the former president from continuing his presidential campaign.
The DOJ’s leftist prosecutors argue that Section Three of the 14th Amendment prohibits any individual who has “engaged in insurrection” from holding public office.
Despite their efforts, Democrats have been unable to prevent Trump from appearing on the 2024 presidential primary ballot in states such as Colorado and Michigan.
