Jan. 6 hearing makes case Trump at 'center of this conspiracy' to overturn election
Thursday marked the House select committee's first prime-time hearing.
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:
- 'He called me there': Teasing next hearing, committee shows video of rioters voicing intent
- Historic hearing gavels out
- 'It was carnage': Capitol Police officer recounts 'slipping in people's blood'
- Video shows Capitol Police officer getting knocked unconscious
- Documentarian notes Proud Boys went to Capitol before Trump spoke
Historic hearing underway
Chairman Bennie Thompson has gaveled in the committee's first prime-time hearing intended 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 will say in his opening statement, according to an excerpt released by the committee. "The conspiracy to thwart the will of the people is not over."
Americans will hear live testimony from a Capitol Police officer and documentarian who were on the scene of the attack and watch never-before-seen video footage in a rare congressional hearing made for television.
Cheney arrives on Capitol Hill
Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., vice chair of the select committee, was the first member to arrive on Capitol Hill through the member entrance, according to an NBC pool reporter.
Asked how she was feeling, Cheney said, "Good, thank you," as she walked inside.
Cheney and Rep. Adam Kinzinger, R-Ill., the only other House Republican to accept a seat on the panel, have faced relentless attacks from within their caucus for their participation. Cheney was removed from her No. 3 House GOP leadership post last year, and both were formally censured by the Republican National Committee for choosing to investigate what it controversially called "legitimate political discourse."
Demonstrators rally outside Capitol
Demonstrators gathered outside the U.S. Capitol on Thursday ahead of the House select committee's first prime-time hearing of its Jan. 6 investigation.
Participants held signs reading, "Not above the law."
The panel is looking to explain what it calls a "coordinated, multi-step effort" by Trump and his supporters to overturn his 2020 election loss.
Trump calls Jan. 6 riot 'the greatest movement'
From legal action to name-calling, Trump continues to try to discredit the House select committee as the panel prepares to go public with its findings in prime time.
"January 6th was not simply a protest, it represented the greatest movement in the history of our Country to Make America Great Again," Trump said in a string of posts hours ahead of the hearing on Truth Social, the social media platform his team launched after Twitter permanently suspended him in the wake of the Capitol siege "due to the risk of further incitement of violence."
Click here for more on how Trump has deployed an arsenal of rhetoric to recast what happened and undermine the investigation.