Four Hours at the Capitol

I remember watching the live news coverage of the storming of the Capitol Building on January 6th as it was relayed on TV late at night into my home. It seemed incredible that such a thing was actually happening in the perceived great bastion of Western Democracy, but there it was, in front of my own eyes, a large mob taking over the American parliament during the session at which the recent election result was to be ratified, confirming the end of Donald Trump's highly controversial presidency.

As the day begins, we hear Trump's address to his followers, promoting his belief that the election had been fixed against him and encouraging his supporters to march to "stop the steal" to coin his own phrase. And so a massive crowd estimated at 15000, from different parts of the country gathered to make their dissent known to their own lawmakers. Meanwhile, of course, Trump was out on the golf-course and besides the provocative speeches he'd made since the dusputed election count, had already stated he wouldn't do the traditional thing and attend new president Biden's inauguration ceremony...talk about lighting the fuse and then turning away!

This gripping 90 minute documentary showed what happened at first hand that day with mobile phone, police body-cam and interior CCTV footage showing the rioters' violent rampage into the once-hallowed building, overrunning in the process the thinly-spread official police protection on duty that day. Chronicled as it happened, with contributions from all sides of the divide, this was riveting to watch as the viewer is effectively given a box-seat at the heart of the action. There is actual footage shown of the shooting of the female insurgent although surprisingly nothing of the widely publicised break-In to the office of the House Speaker, Nancy Pelosi.

At one point, I was actually reminded of nothing so much as the famous defence at Thermopylae by the 300 Spartans as the police strove man and woman-fully to hold back the teeming mob intent on entry and causing them harm in the process. This contrasted with the cowardly use of improvised weaponry and sheer weight of numbers the protesters employed against the building's defenders. We get verité accounts from some of the acting police personnel, none more arresting than that from the obviously tough, army-hardened officer who was dragged out of his position and who feared he was about to be lynched. Beaten and tasered, he miraculously survived, but in a telling statistic, six other of his fellow-officers who fought a brave rearguard action alongside him, were revealed to have committed suicide as a result of the trauma suffered, although the balancing point was made that about the same number of attackers had also died that fateful day.

It was amazing and not a little outrageous to hear the assorted ragbag of marchers justifying their actions. Absolutely no respect was shown for the building, its staff, politicians and by extension its symbolism of democracy to the people. Contrast this with the commentaries by the building's office staff, senators and security staff, many of whom feared for their lives. I personally believe that it's impossible to absolve Trump from at least some blame in this sorry incident which shamed a nation.

I felt the film at times tried too hard to balance up the opposing views, allowing some of the MAGA interviewees to promote their own agenda with some incredibly blinkered views. The camera doesn't lie however and this was mob-rule in action, at times genuinely distressing and frightening to watch, it did almost seem as if a coup was under way.

Thank goodness law and order was eventually restored but at what cost to the democratic ideal of the United States of America...

This is a fairly straightforward record of the events of January 6, pieced together from a variety of sources and narrated by interviews with those who were there - rioters, police, reporters, politicians. The film doesn't really reveal anything new or surprising about January 6, but it does serve as a revealing record of possibly the dumbest insurrection in history. They stormed the Capitol with no real plan - just because Trump told them to. Some believed the election had been rigged or stolen, but they had zero evidence, and had ignored all the evidence that there was no irregularity, no "steal". Some spout dopey beliefs about children being kidnaped and tortured, again with no evidence. Once inside the Capitol, they take selfies, smoke weed, wander aimlessly and are led away from the Senate chamber by one wily security officer - because they were too dumb to even check the layout of the building before storming it. Ultimately, they achieved nothing, other than shaming themselves and their nation. All in all, it's a wonder these yokels managed to catch the right bus or train, or take the right freeway to get to Washington in the first place. Yes, the US is deeply divided, and those divisions led to the insurrection, riot, attempted coup, or whatever you want to call it. But the US needs to face the fact that - besides being a nation divided - this was an insurrection born of rank stupidity.

If you were not at the Capitol.on January 6th, this documentary will make you feel like you were.

Presented chronologically on that day, it's honest, real, and gripping.

Recommend for anyone interested in seeing and hearing the experiences of many points of view, and the real life consequences.

The footage acquired by the filmmakers is incredible - much of it previously unreleased to the media. The producers clearly developed a strong report with some of the insurrectionists which is what gave the film the most in depth, on the ground vantage point of any films on this tragic day. Somehow they even managed to get quality footage (taken by the rioters themselves) of many of the individuals they later interviewed. That is what truly sets this apart from the ever growing index of films about January 6th.

I read a Variety review that was very critical of the film for giving the rioters a platform for spreading more false narratives. But I disagree. I think it's critical to hear these voices (as misguided as they may be) for us to understand the mindsets of the people who tried to overthrow our democracy. Because, rest assured, they will try it again.

If, in a country of several hundred million, a few thousand fiercely dispute the legitimacy of the government, you might think the country isn't actually doing too badly. But a few thousand people, if sufficiently determined, can do a whole lot of damage. But orderly government is usually possible because the dissenters understand the futility of trying to force their way. But Donald Trump, an incumbent President who lost his re-election, proceded to tell his followers the election had been stolen and moreover, that they could do something about it. Eventually, some of them violently stormed the U. S. legislature. This documentary shows what happened. On one hand, it shows just a little of the context: we see Trump's last speach to the rioters, but not how he tried to persistently de-ligitimise the election result. We also get a lot of interviews with the rioters themselves, who are allowed to self-justify at excessive length. But we do also get a lot of film of the event, which shows clearly the true horror of what unfolded. However much the protesters claim to have simply been exerting their rights, it's clear that their actions, whatever their individual motivations, amounted in total to a full-on attack on the U. S. government. In the end, order was restored, but Trump was never held to account. And the worrying thing is that tyrants have throughout history seized power through the incitement of the mob. It's hard to avoid concluding that the modern Republican party has not decided to take the side of tyranny over democracy, which does not bode at all well for the future.