Jan. 6 hearing makes case Trump at 'center' of 'conspiracy' to overturn election

Thursday marked the House select committee's first prime-time hearing.

ByLibby Cathey and Alexandra Hutzler
Last Updated: June 10, 2022, 1:50 PM EDT

The House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol held its first prime-time hearing on Thursday.

The hearing featured never-before-seen video footage and witness testimony as lawmakers aim to explain what they call a "coordinated, multi-step effort" by former President Donald Trump and his allies to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election.

Here is how the hearing unfolded:

Jun 09, 2022, 6:57 PM EDT

Officers and widows plan to attend hearing

Several police officers who defended the Capitol on Jan. 6 and widows of law enforcement members who died in the aftermath will be present at the hearing.

Among them are Erin Smith, the widow of Metropolitan Police Department officer Jeffrey Smith; Serena Liebengood, the widow of Capitol Police officer Howie Liebengood; Sandra Garza, partner of Capitol Police officer Brian Sicknick; Capitol Police officer Harry Dunn; Capitol Police Sgt. Aquilino Gonell; and Metropolitan Police Department officer Daniel Hodges.

Dunn told ABC News Congressional Correspondent Rachel Scott the hearing will be "triggering."

"I think about Jan. 6 daily and tonight we are going to find out stuff we didn't know," he said.

U.S. Capitol Police officer Harry Dunn becomes emotional as he testifies before the House Select Committee investigating the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, July 27, 2021 at the Canon House Office Building in Washington, D.C.
Oliver Contreras/Pool via Getty Images, FILE

Garza told Scott she's preparing to painfully "relive the nightmare of the day." Her longtime partner, Officer Sicknick, suffered two strokes and died of natural causes one day after engaging with rioters.

"Everybody should watch the hearings because they need the truth of what happened that day," Garza said. "These are the facts -- it's important for them not to only hear the witnesses but see it again." She added, "There has to be some accountability, people are dead because of what happened."

Jun 09, 2022, 7:00 PM EDT

'Our democracy remains in danger': Opening statement excerpt

Chairman Bennie Thompson will warn the American public of the ongoing threat from "those in this country who thirst for power" when the Jan. 6 committee soon kicks off a series of public hearings laying out its investigation, according to an opening statement released by the committee.

"So tonight, and over the next few weeks, we're going to remind you of the reality of what happened that day. But our work must do much more than just look backwards. Because our democracy remains in danger," Thompson is expected to say. "The conspiracy to thwart the will of the people is not over."

PHOTO: Chairman Bennie Thompson, center, flanked by Rep. Zoe Lofgren, left, and Vice Chair Liz Cheney, makes a statement as the House committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol convenes in Washington, March 28, 2022.
Chairman Bennie Thompson, center, flanked by Rep. Zoe Lofgren, left, and Vice Chair Liz Cheney, makes a statement as the House committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol convenes in Washington, March 28, 2022. The House committee investigating the Jan. 6 insurrection at the Capitol will go public with its findings in a series of public hearings starting June 9, 2022.
J. Scott Applewhite/AP, FILE

"January 6th and the lies that led to insurrection have put two and a half centuries of constitutional democracy at risk. The world is watching what we do here," read the excerpt.

Jun 09, 2022, 5:45 PM EDT

Capitol Police officer, documentarian to testify

One of the first officers injured on Jan. 6, U.S. Capitol Police officer Caroline Edwards, who suffered a traumatic brain injury after she was thrown to the ground by rioters pushing bike racks, will deliver her firsthand account before the committee in a matter of hours.

Violent insurrections loyal to President Donald Trump try to break through a police barrier at the Capitol in Washington on Jan. 6, 2021.
Julio Cortez/AP, FILE

Documentary filmmaker Nick Quested, who followed the Proud Boys through Washington as members of the extremist group marched on the Capitol and clashed with law enforcement, is also scheduled to testify live.

ABC News exclusively obtained some of Quested's extraordinary material, showing how a group of Trump supporters at a presidential rally transformed into an angry mob that broke into the Capitol. Click here for more.

Jun 09, 2022, 5:22 PM EDT

McCarthy dodges questions on legitimacy of 2020 election

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., wouldn’t say Thursday if President Joe Biden was the legitimate winner of the 2020 election.

ABC News Chief Washington Correspondent Jonathan Karl pressed McCarthy on the matter four times during a news conference where House Republicans preemptively slammed tonight’s hearing, calling the Jan. 6 panel "the most political and least legitimate committee in American history."

McCarthy said Biden is the president, but declined to address the legitimacy aspect and declined to say Trump was wrong when he baselessly claimed the election was fraudulent.

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