Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

New video shows Capitol rioter attacking police officers as crowd chant ‘U-S-A! U-S-A!’

New videos are from the bodycams of police officers confronting the mob

Stuti Mishra
Thursday 24 June 2021 13:01 BST
Comments
Pro-Trump mob attack a police officer as the crowd chants
Leer en Español

Your support helps us to tell the story

This election is still a dead heat, according to most polls. In a fight with such wafer-thin margins, we need reporters on the ground talking to the people Trump and Harris are courting. Your support allows us to keep sending journalists to the story.

The Independent is trusted by 27 million Americans from across the entire political spectrum every month. Unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock you out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. But quality journalism must still be paid for.

Help us keep bring these critical stories to light. Your support makes all the difference.

Bodycam videos newly released by the US Justice Department show the 6 January riots from the perspective of police officers as they stand up to a crowd chanting “U-S-A! U-S-A!” at Capitol Hill.

In one of the videos, officers are seen standing face-to-face with the crowd, as one cop is knocked to the ground by a man, that court filings identify as 42-year-old Brian Mock from Minnesota. Others in the crowd also try to clash with police, while trying to snatch their shields.

The officer who was knocked down, injured his hand, according to the court documents. The video shows while he was being helped by other cops to get up and was being taken away, the crowd starts chanting “U-S-A! U-S-A!”

The videos that surfaced earlier were taken by journalists present at the spot as the Senate was about to certify the victory of president Joe Biden, or were captured by the civilians or rioters themselves and shared on social media.

Mr Mock was allegedly also spotted in other videos and was arrested on 11 June. He is awaiting trial. According to the filing, he has also been convicted previously for second-degree assault in a 2010 case.

Another video shows a sea of people outside the Capitol building as chanting of “police stand down” intensifies, while dozens of rioters with American flags are seen on top of the roof, as police try to drag one person out of a staircase.

In another confrontation, a group of policemen are pushed by the people in the mob, while the American flag and a Trump flag are seen in the frame. Another video shows cops struggling and coughing amidst a cloud of chemical spray.

In another video, a few police officers are beaten by a man, identified by the filings as 21-year-old Grady Owens from Florida. Prosecutors allege he attacked the officers with a skateboard. He has been booked for assault and similar other charges as the rest of the rioters.

The federal court records say that approximately around 2.30pm, the crowd of violent rioters breached the police line and assaulted multiple officers. Nearly 140 police officers suffered injuries during the riot, according to a bipartisan Senate report.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in