January 6 Committee hearings: what you need to know

After nearly a year’s investigation, involving 1,000 interviews and more than 100,000 documents, a series of public hearings into the 6 January 2021 attack on the US Capitol kicked off in Washington DC on Thursday night.

The hearings are being led by the January 6 Committee, in the hope of establishing an authoritative narrative of the riot.

Here’s what you need to know.

What happened on 6 January 2021?

On 6 January, with Congress set to formalise Joe Biden’s presidency, thousands of Trump supporters descended on Washington DC, and gathered outside of the Capitol building.

More than 2,000 rioters stormed the building, looting and vandalising it, as well as attacking police officers. During the course of the riot, 138 police officers were injured, alongside many involved in the attack, one rioter was killed by Capitol police officers.

It has been alleged that Trump’s actions leading up to the riot, including a speech at a “Save America” rally earlier in the day, in which he said: “If you don’t fight like hell, you’re not going to have a country any more,” had incited the attack.

What are the January 6 Committee hearings, and what are they trying to prove?

During six televised hearings, the first of which was broadcast on Thursday, the January 6 Committee will present the findings of its almost year-long investigation into the US Capitol attack.

The committee is made up of seven Democrats, and two (resolutely anti-Trump) Republicans, who were appointed by Nancy Pelosi, the Democratic Leader of the House.

The hearings are expected to be scripted, in order to avoid the chaos that often plagues committee hearings, and will show evidence from 6 January, in the form of footage, recorded interviews with witnesses, live interviews and documentary evidence.

Many Democrats will be hoping that the hearings jog the memories of voters ahead of the midterm elections in November – reminding them how the anarchy was prompted by the actions of a Republican politician.

The chairman of the January 6 Committee, Bennie Thompson, said in his opening statement on Thursday that Trump was “at the centre of the conspiracy,” and was “was trying to stop the peaceful transfer of power.”

The committee is expected to support Thompson’s statement with the evidence that it presents.

What’s been revealed?

According to Committee aides, the hearings will reveal “a whole lot of new material,” after law enforcement, protestors, Republican politicians, and Mike Pence’s political team were all interviewed.

A considerable amount of new information was revealed in Thursday’s hearing, including video testimony from Trump’s own advisors.  For example, Bill Barr, the Attorney General under Trump, testified that he had told the President that claims of election fraud were unfounded, and that the justice department had found no evidence to overturn the election.

Donald Trump’s daughter, Ivanka, was also interviewed by the Committee. In a recorded statement, she said: “I respect Attorney General Barr so I accepted what he was saying.”

In another witness testimony, described by the vice-chair of the Committee, Liz Cheney, Trump responded to chants of “hang Mike Pence” from rioters by telling a room of staff members that “Mike Pence deserves it.”

British documentarian, Nick Quested, who followed members of the right-wing group Proud Boys during the riot described his experience of the attack: “I documented the crowd turn from protesters to rioters to insurrectionists. I was surprised at the size of the group, the anger and the profanity.”

What will the consequences be?

The Committee will produce a report following the hearings which is likely to suggest reforms to the US electoral process. As the hearings are set to take place until September, with the next scheduled for Monday 13 June, they will occupy the news agenda in the run-up to the November midterm elections.

With the Committee, which has no legal power, having described the riot as an “attempted coup,” it could recommend criminal charges for those involved, and provide evidence to the US Justice Department, which is running its own investigation into the attack.