Two years later, Jan. 6 video footage raises new questions about police and prosecutors

 Two years after the Jan. 6 Capitol riot, the issue of security footage is bedeviling law enforcement as federal prosecutors belatedly admit there is footage of some cops consorting with the riotous crowd and a retired Capitol Police executive divulges there are sizzle reels of all defendants inside the Capitol that were prepared for the FBI. Retired Capitol Police Deputy Chief J.J. Pickett told Just the News on Monday that he is not certain whether federal prosecutors have turned over to Jan. 6 defendants the compilation videos made by his department of every person who entered the U.S. Capitol during the riot.

Pickett, who retired a few months after the Capitol riot, said he was briefed by colleagues on the extensive video sizzle reel his department's video security experts compiled, which he said took months to complete.

Pickett's description of a large library of compilation videos comes as federal prosecutors divulged in the case of one Jan. 6 defendant, William Pope, that there is police body-cam footage they don't want to make public that shows D.C. Metropolitan Police officers - some in plain clothes - consorting with the protesters and even exhorting "Go! Go! Go!" as the protesters are trying to penetrate the Capitol.

90.0.pdf Pope's defense team has asked for permission to make the video footage public, but federal prosecutors told the court they want the trial judge's protective order to remain in place to keep the video from becoming public.

"To do so would be like using a hammer when only a scalpel is needed," the government argued in opposing the release of the tapes, adding they believed Pope's "Desire to try his case in the media rather than in a court of law is illegitimate." Just the News reached out to U.S. Capitol Police, who confirmed video footage was sent to federal prosecutors but said they did not understand Pickett's concerns.

Several lawyers representing Jan. 6 defendants did not respond to calls Monday seeking comment on whether their clients have been able to review video footage like that described by Pickett.

The issue of defense access to security video footage has burst into public after Fox News host Tucker Carlson published video of some of the defendants and their lawyers then claimed the footage was not shared with them.

https://justthenews.com/government/security/tuetwo-years-later-jan-6-video-footage-raises-new-questions-about-police-and