Four Hours at the Capitol

An eye-opening documentary about the events that occurred during the capital insurrection. Every single American citizen should watch this unfiltered film of the violent protests that were, without any doubt, incited by Donald Trump. The coordination between the interviews with both capital police, congressmen, and rioters with the video footage captured that day was very well done. On one final note... to the criminals at the capital that day... We do not love you, you are not special.

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.

I could care less about your political beliefs but what happened to these police officers was disgraceful. Americans attacking officers just doing their jobs. I cried watching Michael Fanone getting dragged into the crowd and tasered. I hope these terrorists are served justice. I watched this happen live but this documentary was able to bring it all together.

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.

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.