Defendants awaiting trial for charges related to the January 6 Capitol protests — many of whom are still locked up in poor conditions for minor charges — may soon be given access to Capitol security footage from the incident.
What’s being done to these Jan. 6 accused is inexcusable and inhumane. And it’s institutionalized by the system, while being ignored by MSM. A travesty… https://t.co/sBmzxuCRgI
— Viva Frei (@thevivafrei) August 31, 2022
This news comes soon after Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) allowed Fox News host Tucker Carlson access to roughly 41,000 hours of surveillance footage — which Carlson has said will air on his show in the coming weeks.
BREAKING: Tucker Carlson says the Jan 6 footage he has seen directly contradicts what we’ve been told.
It was all a lie.pic.twitter.com/1XMmRy5mE5
— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) February 21, 2023
McCarthy faced heavy backlash for this decision from both sides of the aisle. While Republicans slammed him for giving Fox News exclusive access to the footage, Democrats are angry that Carlson and the American people are even allowed to see the footage at all.
Following the news that Carlson had been given access to the footage, many left-wing outlets began demanding access as well — even outlets that had previously parroted Democrat talking points about the release of the videos being a risk to national security.
Now, Republicans are demanding that the footage be given to January 6 defendants to assist with their trials.
Rep. Barry Loudermilk (R-GA) has revealed that McCarthy gave a green light to release the footage to defendants and their attorneys — on a case-by-case basis.
“It is our intention to make available any relevant videos and documents on a case-by-case basis as requested by attorneys representing defendants,” the Republican congressman said, according to a Tuesday report from Axios.
Loudermilk, who is the chairman of the oversight subcommittee for the House Committee on Administration, went on to argue that “Everyone accused of a crime in this country deserves due process, which includes access to evidence which may be used to prove their guilt or innocence.”
Citing information provided by a Republican congressional aide, Politico reported on Tuesday that House Republicans have also been working on a system to allow the media and the American people to access some January 6 records.
The outlet went on to note that Republicans are currently debating whether any of the Capitol security footage provided to January 6 defendants and their attorneys could be used as evidence at their trials — as doing so would make the videos available to the public.
