Trump's impeachment: Never-before-seen videos of US Capitol attack shown at trial

After Senate voted to proceed with former US President Donald Trump’s historic second impeachment trial, Democrats revealed disturbing new video clips of his supporters’ attack on the US Capitol last month as they presented their case on February 10. As per The Guardian report, the House impeachment managers constructed a timeline which, according to them, showed how Trump was “singularly responsible” for the deadly assault that motivated the angry rioters to step inside the federal building.

United States Senators, now seated as jurors in the chamber to investigate the US Capitol siege on January 6, reportedly watched the recordings silently as the security videos and police dispatches gave a clearer picture of the afternoon engulfed in chaos. As per the report, the dramatic scenes inside the US Capitol showed pro-Trump protesters campaigning through the halls of the Congress, looking for then-Vice President Mike Pence and House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi. 

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It is also revealed that the members of the far-right extremist groups were the first ones to storm inside the federal building, some were even armed. Reportedly, in the previously unreleased video, 15 minutes after Pence and his family were evacuated, rioters breached the building and the chants of ‘hang Mike Pence’ reverberated through the walls. In another graphic video that was shown to the Senators, a police officer can be seen firing through a broken window, killing Ashli Babbit as she attempted to enter the US Capitol. 

After playing several other dramatic recordings of the incident including the evacuation of Mitt Romney, Trump’s Republican critic and Nancy Pelosi, Stacey Plaskett, an impeachment manager and a delegate of the Virgin Islands, reportedly said, “President Trump put a target on their backs...And his mob broke into the Capitol to hunt them down.”

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‘Distressing and emotional’

During the US Capitol attack, Mitt Romney, Trump’s rare critic in his own party, can be seen escorted by police officer Eugene Goodman away from the rioters and potentially saving the Senator. Following the session in the chamber, Romney reportedly admitted that it “distressing and emotional” to watch the clips unveiled by the Democrats. He also said that he was unaware that he was so close to danger. Romney told the reporters, “It tears at your heart and brings tears to your eyes. That was overwhelmingly distressing and emotional.”

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