(Ken Silva, Headline USA) More evidence of undercover law enforcement’s participation in the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol Hill protest has surfaced in recent court filings from William Pope, who is seeking to have a federal judge unseal evidence that he says will show a more complete picture of government’s covert operations that day.
Pope—who faces obstruction of Congress, civil disorder and trespassing charges—included video footage of undercover officers at Jan. 6 in a court filing last week. He did so to disprove government’s claims that there were no undercover government provocateurs at the Capitol on Jan. 6, he said.
Videos included in Pope’s filing included police bodycam footage showing officers questioning whether five apparent Jan. 6 participants were armed. In response, the armed suspects proceeded to produce what appear to be DOJ/DEA agency credentials, Pope noted.
There is also bodycam footage showing uniformed officers repeatedly telling people to “keep marching” while waving them towards the Capitol, he said.
“These are not wild conspiracy theories; these are facts on video. The only reason I am able to access these particular facts and share them as public exhibits is because they are not designated as sensitive or highly sensitive and thus are not materials that are subject to the protective order (because I fully comply with the protective order!),” he said.
“However, the government continues trying to block me from having full access to the discovery which likely contains many additional exculpatory facts that will enable me to defend myself in court.”
One particular video Pope seeks to have unsealed purportedly shows an undercover Metropolitan Police Department officer joining the crowd in chants of “Drain the swamp!” and “Whose house? Our house!”—repeatedly urging protestors to advance up the northwest steps to the Capitol.
Pope seeks to have a judge remove the “sensitive” designation on this video so he can share it publicly—because “major news organizations are now contacting me asking about the undercover MPD video,” he said.
“It would also serve the interests of justice and completeness for this court to release the broader video recorded by the undercover officer,” he said.
Prosecutors have yet to respond to Pope’s request.
Ken Silva is a staff writer at Headline USA. Follow him at twitter.com/jd_cashless.
