In a federal court document submitted on Friday, the government stated three police officers seemed to be part of the crowd chanting “drain the swamp” and “Whose house? Our house!” as demonstrators stormed the Capitol on January 6th.
The events were captured on GoPro footage recorded by a Metropolitan police officer who was positioned at the Capitol “to collect evidence,” according to the document.
Request to Disclose Videos to Uncover the Act of Police Officers
In relation to a Kansas man facing multiple felony charges tied to the Capitol riot, the government’s submission concerns his case.
The defendant, William Pope from Topeka, is representing himself. He requested the judge to disclose videos pertinent to his case. Pope asserts these videos reveal undercover Metropolitan police officers encouraging protesters to infiltrate the Capitol on January 6th.
"Three police officers appear to be among those chanting “drain the swamp” and “Whose house? Our house!” as protesters invaded the Capitol on Jan. 6, the government said in a federal court document filed Friday."https://t.co/Z3hNe1cghm
— Ⓜ️Ⓜ️ Lauren Ash Davis – OG Meidas Mighty 🇺🇦🌻☮️ (@Meidas_LaurenA) March 26, 2023
Video Clips of Jan. 6 to Be Made Available to Other Media Outlets
In response to U.S. District Judge Rudolph Contreras’ order, the government submitted the document.
The judge instructed prosecutors to address reports that other media outlets would receive the same access to over 40,000 hours of Capitol Police surveillance footage. This was recently provided to Fox News host Tucker Carlson by House Republicans.
Despite Tucker Carlson's claim, Capitol Police say they didn't review Jan. 6 footage aired by Fox News – ABC News https://t.co/ra7iIuFrNh
— NewsfeedsMedia (@NewsfeedsMedia) March 28, 2023
In the previous week, the chief attorney for the U.S. Capitol Police submitted a sworn affidavit, indicating House Republicans ignored the agency’s request to review and approve each January 6th video clip they planned to release to the public.
Thomas DiBiase mentioned he discovered via the press on February 20th that staff members from Tucker Carlson’s show were given allowance to the surveillance footage.
Meanwhile, a comment was made by Dibiase regarding the clips featured on Carlson’s programs on March 6th and 7th. He stated, “I was shown only one clip before it aired.”
Judge Contreras instructed the Capitol Police to submit the affidavit, following his earlier decision this month to postpone ruling on Pope’s request to release the sealed videos.
