House Speaker Backtracks on Blurring Jan. 6 Footage to Protect Rioters

House Speaker Mike Johnson initially stated that the complete surveillance footage from the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol would be blurred to protect participants from being charged by law enforcement. However, his spokesman later clarified that the blurring was intended to prevent retaliation against private citizens by non-governmental actors, as the Department of Justice already had access to the unblurred footage. The blurred footage has been in possession of federal investigators for nearly three years and has been used to identify suspects in the riot. Over 1,200 people have been charged in connection with Jan. 6. Johnson emphasized the importance of transparency but faced criticism from Democrats for releasing the full footage.