Hi there,

The job of a journalist is to go to where the silence is — especially when those in power seek to silence voices that question or challenge power. That is what we do at Democracy Now! day in and day out, and we're able to do it because of financial support from people like you — people who trust and depend on our independent reporting. If you believe that freedom of speech and freedom of the press are essential to the functioning of a democratic society, please donate today. Every dollar makes a difference. Thank you so much.

Democracy Now!
Amy Goodman

Non-commercial news needs your support.

We rely on contributions from you, our viewers and listeners to do our work. If you visit us daily or weekly or even just once a month, now is a great time to make your monthly contribution.

Please do your part today.

Donate

Capitol Police Fail to Stop Insurrection as Video Shows Officers Stepping Aside, Posing for Selfies

HeadlineJan 07, 2021

Despite the extraordinary scenes of violence, police arrested just 26 people on the Capitol grounds Wednesday. Congressmember Tim Ryan, the Ohio Democrat charged with funding the Capitol Police, told Politico, “I think it’s pretty clear that there’s going to be a number of people who are going to be without employment very, very soon.”

One video appears to show Capitol Police opening a metal barricade outside the Capitol building. As the mob surges forward, the police walk slowly backward, making no obvious attempt to stop them. Another video shows a Capitol Police officer posing for a selfie with an insurrectionist inside the Capitol building.

Meanwhile, CNN reports President Trump resisted demands he send in Washington, D.C.’s National Guard to stop the insurrection. Instead, it was Vice President Mike Pence who coordinated with the Pentagon to send in the guard troops — after hours of delay.

The original content of this program is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License. Please attribute legal copies of this work to democracynow.org. Some of the work(s) that this program incorporates, however, may be separately licensed. For further information or additional permissions, contact us.

Non-commercial news needs your support

We rely on contributions from our viewers and listeners to do our work.
Please do your part today.
Make a donation
Top