In May, a video emerged showing a pro-Trump protester in a beige hoodie alongside the infamous ‘shaman’ being told by police that the group has permission to remain within the capitol building.
There is no evidence that either man was ever violent at any point in time, but yet they both remain charged and many of the protesters remain in custody in solitary confinement awaiting trials.
The video emerged almost 4 months after both men entered pleas.
Videos like this one continue to emerge, even as protesters who were non-violent but simply stepped foot inside the capitol building are entering pleas and being sentenced to long prison terms.
Paul Allard Hodgkins for example was sentenced recently after he pleaded guilty to a single felony count of obstructing an official proceeding. He was identified in videos and photos inside the senate chamber carrying a Trump 2020 flag. Hodgkins committed no violent acts, yet he was sentenced to almost a year in prison.
In recent years, there have been over a dozen instances of left-wing protesters storming past capitol police and entering the US capitol building without permission. Thus far, all of those charged in these protests were either released and had their charges dropped, or faced short probationary periods and small fines.
Recently, Representatives Paul Gosar, Matt Gaetz, Louie Gohmert, and Marjorie Taylor Greene signed a letter demanding an in-person meeting with attorney general Merrick Garland regarding potential exonerating footage the DOJ refuses to release.
“We the undersigned, are writing today to let you know we would like to meet with you in person on Tuesday, July 27, 2021, anytime between noon and 3:00 pm at your office to discuss the status of the January 6th prisoners and related investigations,” the letter reads.
“…on July 6, 2021, the DOJ stated that it has released 11 new videos related to these investigations. The undersigned offices in one form or another have been requesting the release of all 14,000 hours of raw footage from surveillance cameras.”
The letter continues, “Several defendants have already made plea agreements, yet it does not appear that either they or their counsel, have had access to this potentially exculpatory evidence. Every American citizen has a constitutional right to all the evidence before making any decision to go to trial, plead no contest, or plead guilty.”
“In addition, we have concerns about the reports of the conditions of the prison where these detainees are being held and whether, in fact, there have been instances of abuse inflicted by other prisoners or guards.”
According to several lawyers representing many capitol protesters, prisoners are being held in solitary confinement and being treated worse than prisoners in Guantanamo Bay, in many cases because they simply stepped foot inside the capitol building.
One capitol protester was beaten so badly by guards, he lost an eye in the attack, and another detainee was confronted by a guard who threatened to rape his wife while he was in prison.
Another lawyer who represents a capitol protester named Richard Barnett said his client was beaten, dragged, and hog-tied. At one point Barnett’s pants dropped below his ankles exposing his private parts while he was taking a beating in front of a female officer. Barnett had to beg and plead to pull his pants up.
This is not the first time footage has been withheld that may go against the official popular narrative.
In 2020, Democrat Keith Ellison withheld the full-length body camera footage of the George Floyd incident. This occurrence is extremely abnormal. When an out-of-context clip could potentially lead to mass unrest, the police usually immediately release the full raw footage. Months later, after billions in damage and several deaths occurred, the full footage was leaked by the Daily Mail.
As soon as it was released, YouTube censored the footage on every channel that posted it, requiring official accounts and age verification in order to see the full footage, also abnormal for body camera footage of even some of the most violent police encounters on YouTube.
