After more than 18 months of heated rhetoric, political commentary, and nonstop media coverage, do we really know what took place in Washington, DC on January 6, 2021? Was it a coup, an insurrection, or a protest?
To provide new clarity on the events of that day, The Epoch Times has produced a documentary, “The Real Story of January 6,” narrated by Joshua Philipp, a senior investigative reporter at The Epoch Times.
The film takes a deep dive into the shooting of 35-year-old U.S. Air Force veteran Ashli Babbitt and the deaths of three other supporters of former President Donald J. Trump. In addition, it analyzes the police response to the massive crowds and use of force around the U.S. Capitol.
It examines the human impacts of January 6, including the suicide of one defendant and the long pretrial imprisonment of dozens of others. It also investigates claims that unindicted suspicious actors carried out some attacks on the Capitol and police.
Why did police open the Capitol doors to the demonstrators? Was the death of U.S. Air Force veteran Ashli Babbitt justified? Did the police properly use tear gas and their riot gear? Joining us in this discussion is Joshua Philipp (or Joe Hanneman) of the Epoch Times, a featured speaker in the documentary, to help us see beyond the carefully crafted narrative debunked by this documentary.
Talking points:
USE OF FORCE
“It was a shooting gallery out there.”
• Police began lobbing explosives into what had been a peaceful crowd on the west side of the Capitol at about 1:20 p.m.
• They fired rubber bullets from high above the crowd, risking injury to protesters’ eyes.
• Almost immediately after the first flashbangs and dispersion grenades detonated in the crowd, police in riot gear emerged and began beating protesters, provoking an angry reaction from protesters.
• Two men—one of whom struck by a projectile from a grenade—fell to the ground unconscious shortly after incendiaries detonated in their vicinity. Both men later died. The deaths were blamed on coronary artery disease, but the many believe that incendiary devises can triggered attacks and strokes.
• One man shown in the film was set on fire by a police grenade.
• Stan Kephart, the use-of-force expert in the documentary, said the deaths followed the improper use of incendiary devices. He viewed their use as a way to punish the crowd, not disperse it.
DEATHS
• The shooting of Air Force veteran Ashli Babbitt was unprovoked and unjustifiable.
• Babbitt, labeled a domestic terrorist and rioter, tried to stop violence and prevent vandalism in the hallway outside the Speaker’s Lobby.
• Babbitt was likely in a state of panic, trying to escape the raucous hallway, when she climbed into the broken-out window. It was not an attack on the U.S. House.
• The hallway where Babbitt was shot was full of what we call “unindicted suspicious actors” and material witnesses. Most of them have not been identified or charged.
• Rosanne Boyland fell and was trapped during a stampede out of the Lower West Terrace tunnel. Police unleashed a gas that consumed the oxygen in the tunnel, causing an immediate panic.
• People were piled 4-5 bodies deep as police continued to push more protesters out of the tunnel.
• Protesters frantically begged police to stop pushing and help rescue Boyland and other trapped individuals.
• After Boyland was uncovered, an officer kicked several men on top of her.
• A police officer armed with a wooden walking stick inexplicably began attacking the unconscious Boyland, striking her in the ribs once and twice in the head.
• The attack was a criminal act that should be prosecuted, use-of-force expert Stan Kephart said.
• Luke Coffee of Dallas stepped in front of the police line to be a buffer between officers and the crowd. He picked up a crutch and held it aloft to make himself a barrier, allowing bystanders to drag Boyland away from police and begin CPR. Coffee is accused of assaulting the officer who beat Boyland with a stick, but the video shows the officer attacked Coffee with the stick.
A SUICIDE
“None of this makes any sense.”
• Federal prosecutors planned to seek 41 to 51 months in prison for Matt Perna, who did little but wander around the Rotunda taking photos.
• After learning of the possible prison time, Perna hung himself in the garage of his Pennsylvania home.
• The constant delays by prosecutors were mental torture for Perna, who agreed to plead guilty just to get it over with.
• Perna became despondent after learning prosecutors sought to enhance potential prison time beyond what was in his plea deal.
• Geri Perna, Matt’s aunt, talks about the kind of man he was and what his death has done to the Perna family.
PRETRIAL PRISONERS
• Defendant Jake Lang talks about being beaten by guards at the District of Columbia jail, nicknamed the “D.C. Gulag.”
• Dozens of men have been held without bail for more than a year while awaiting trial.
• Lang says prosecutors use pretrial detention (including solitary confinement) to coerce defendants into accepting plea deals.
KEEN OBSERVATIONS
Author Julie Kelly offers some pointed observations on January 6:
• Why was the Capitol not better secured by Nancy Pelosi and Mitch McConnell?
• January 6 was an attempt to criminalize dissent, especially criticism of the 2020 election.
• Those behind January 6 want to finish off Donald Trump and the entire MAGA movement.
• The forces behind January 6 are the same forces behind the Russia collusion hoax.
• The DOJ and anti-Trump political forces hope to use the Oath Keepers and Proud Boys to allege a conspiracy to attack the Capitol. The ultimate goal is to keep Trump off the 2024 ballot.
About your guests:
Joshua Philipp is an award-winning investigative reporter with The Epoch Times. He is a recognized expert on unrestricted warfare, asymmetrical hybrid warfare, subversion, and historical perspectives on today’s issues. His 10-plus years of research and investigations on the Chinese Communist Party, subversion, and related topics give him unique insight into the global threat and political landscape.
Joseph M. Hanneman is a reporter for The Epoch Times focusing on the January 6 U.S. Capitol incursion and its aftermath; and general news in the State of Wisconsin. Over a nearly 40-year career, his work has appeared in Catholic World Report, the Racine Journal Times, the Wisconsin State Journal and the Chicago Tribune. Phone: 608-837-7576
To view the January 6 documentary:
https://vimeo.com/729011735 and enter this password: preview
CONTACT: Jerry McGlothlin 919-437-0001 jerry@specialguests.com
