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Newly Released Footage Shows Capitol Rioter Taunting and Attacking Police

Strategic Insights

— 1 min read

Newly released footage from January 6 shows a supporter of former President Donald Trump, Scott Fairlamb, taunting and punching law enforcement officers outside the US Capitol. The video, released by the Justice Department as part of Fairlamb's trial, shows him leaning into the face of a police officer, following him, and shouting expletives. At one point, Fairlamb pushes and punches the officer, who falls backwards onto a group of rioters. This is the latest release of up-close video of rioters who have been charged with assaulting police.

Key Takeaways:

  • Scott Fairlamb, a gym owner from New Jersey, is charged with 12 criminal counts, including assaulting police and carrying a dangerous weapon into the Capitol.
  • Prosecutors had sent the video of Fairlamb directly to a federal judge reviewing his case months ago, and CNN and 16 other media outlets went to court to seek its release.
  • The Justice Department released four clips Friday used in Fairlamb's case: footage from a police body-worn camera, a video taken by someone in the crowd, and two short clips that Fairlamb uploaded to Facebook and Instagram.
  • The bystander video shows Fairlamb shoving a police officer, who then falls backwards onto a group of rioters, and punching him in the face.
  • The police bodycam footage shows snippets of the same incident from the perspective of one of the Washington, DC, police officers who was behind the officer that Fairlamb was taunting.
  • Fairlamb's history of assault charges and his history of punching people in the face suggests that he may punch people in the face again.
  • More than a dozen news outlets, led by CNN, have spent months seeking access to videos used in court against Capitol riot defendants.

Statistics:

  • 12: number of criminal counts that Scott Fairlamb is charged with.
  • 4: number of clips released by the Justice Department in Fairlamb's case.
  • 56 seconds: length of the video showing Thomas Webster, a former Marine and retired police officer, taunting and attacking police officers.

Sources:

  • CNN: "Newly released footage shows Capitol rioter taunting, punching police" [no date]
  • CNN: "Justice Department releases video in Capitol riot case against Thomas Webster" [no date]
  • CNN: "Judge upholds detention of Capitol riot suspect, citing potential for violence" [April 14, 2021]

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