Trump Lauds Speaker for ‘Courage’ to Release Jan. 6 Videos

Former President Donald Trump commended House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., on Friday for having the “courage and fortitude” to release all of the Jan. 6, 2021 videos that documented the riot at the Capitol.

Johnson earlier Friday announced the beginning of what will eventually be 44,000 hours of footage made available to the public. Roughly 90 hours made it online via the Committee on House Administration. The rollout will continue over the weekend and the next several months.

“Congratulations to Speaker of the House, Mike Johnson for having the Courage and Fortitude to release all of the J6 Tapes, which will explicitly reveal what really happened on January 6th!” Trump posted on Truth Social.

Johnson said faces of private citizens will be blurred to “avoid any persons from being targeted for retaliation,” adding that another 5% of footage will be redacted to protect Capitol security interests.

Many Republicans, who have maintained that Democrats exaggerated the Jan. 6 events, have been calling for the release of the tapes in the three years since the attacks. They were rebuffed by former Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., who opted instead to keep a small circle of those who could view the tapes and only on Capitol grounds.

Trump earlier this month called the rioters sentenced to prison terms for their roles on Jan. 6 “hostages.”

“I call them the J6 hostages, not prisoners. I call them the hostages, what’s happened. And it’s a shame,” Trump said at a campaign stop in Houston.

Trump has also said he’d consider pardons for some convicted of crimes related to Jan. 6. He released a song, “Justice for All,” earlier this year by Donald J. Trump and the J6 Prison Choir.

The Jan. 6 riot is also a centerpiece of the federal criminal charges brought against Trump for allegedly trying to subvert the 2020 election. That trial is scheduled to begin March 4, 2024.