Russian TV host mocks capitol police and launches hateful attack over 6 January riot commission

‘The long-awaited first hearing in the United States was a total farce,’ host reportedly says

Russian state media has mocked the US Capitol police officers who testified over the 6 January riots, making racist comments about an officer who defended the Capitol amid the violence.

According to a report by The Daily Beast, Russian state media host Olga Skabeeva derided the commission in the Kremlin-funded TV program 60 Minutes this week.

“The long-awaited first hearing in the United States was a total farce,” Ms Skabeeva reportedly said.

Ms Skabeeva then hatefully attacked Capitol police officer Harry Dunn, who spoke on Tuesday about how he defended the House chamber from pro-Trump supporters.

During his emotional testimony, Mr Dunn told of how a group of rioters screamed the n-word at him

“Imagine that, a huge dark-skinned policeman, his name is Harry Dunn, got teary-eyed like a boy, because the protesters called him the n-word,” she said, according to The Daily Beast.

According to the outlet, the presenter then said the Russian translation of the racist slur out loud, noting that the racist word is commonly used on Russian state television.

The outlet pointed out that Ms Skabeeva frequently uses the word while presenting on the channel despite having acknowledged it is offensive. The report points out she has previously lived in the US.

Ms Skabeeva went on to push the growing racist conspiracy theory surrounding the shooting of rioter Ashli Babbitt, who some conservatives have come to paint as a patriotic martyr.

“She was a white woman ... shot by a Black policeman, and a Black policeman has the right to shoot a white woman,” she said, according to The Beast.

Following an investigation into Babbitt’s death, the Department of Justice ruled that no criminal action should be taken against the officer who shot her in the shoulder. The officer has not been publicly identified.

In some right-wing circles, speculation that the officer may have been Black is fuelling a racist conspiracy theory surrounding Babbitt’s death.

The DOJ ruled that Babbitt had entered the Capitol with rioters and was forcing her way through a broken glass door near the Speaker’s Lobby.

The House Select Committee began the polarising inquiry on Tuesday after Mr Trump’s supporters overwhelmed the US Capitol in an attempt to overturn the election.

Republicans have largely pushed back against the commission, with many having downplayed or even denied the insurrection in the months after it took place.

Democrats have soldiered ahead with the investigation in the hope it will “inform the public of what really happened that day”.