NYT assembles 40-minute video riot tape

The awesome power of the noisy, highly dangerous riot that threatened the national capitol on Jan. 6 has been assembled into a 40-minute video.

The New York Times has collected and forensically shot video, mostly filmed by the rioters themselves.

Although some label the tape as a tourist visit, experts declare that the reconstruction shows our Capitol riot for what it was: A violent assault encouraged by the president (Trump) on a seat of democracy that he promised to protect.

In the weeks beforehand, there were over a million mentions on social media of storming the Capitol. Maps were shared of the building’s layout. There was talk of bringing weapons and ammunition.

What happened next was chaos. People are heard saying:

“They broke the glass?” Insurrections. Take it now!” “Treason! Treason!! USA! The New York Times obtained internal police radio traffic … and went to court to unseal police body-cam footage.

Rioters headed straight for the Senate.

Officer Eugene Goodman is sprinting to overtake them. He passes Mitt Romney, whom he warns to turn around. Reinforcements are following behind. Goodman overtakes the mob, goes downstairs and intercepts them. He holds them off until back-up arrives upstairs.

It’s now 2:24 p.m., some 90 minutes after the siege began and the mob is about to overrun the building. Trump composes a tweet. Not to calm his supporters, but to blame his vice president. At this time Mike Pence and family are being taken to safety, along with an aide who’s carrying the country’s nuclear launch equipment.

In May, a top Republican was ousted from the party’s leadership after blaming Trump for inspiring the riot.

Over the course of the day, 150 police officers were injured. After 4 p.m. Metro and Capitol Police regain control of the upper levels.

Tear gas and flash bangs disperse the crowd on the Inauguration Terrace. The Virginia State Police and Arlington County police help to reclaim that area. Then rioters are swiftly pushed off Capitol grounds.

Only now, three hours since they were called do the National Guard soldiers arrive.

Trump repeats that the election has been stripped away. He calls his supporters great patriots and says: “The aftermath of Jan. 6 has been as divisive as he lie that launched it. Even as one arm of government has indicted hundreds of rioters, Republican lawmakers continue efforts to moralize what happened with a mix of denials and conspiracy theories.”