(Ken Silva, Headline USA) From leaked discovery material to a surprising admission by the U.S. government itself, a trove of new evidence was revealed Friday showing that undercover police officers played a much larger role in the Jan. 6 Capitol Hill protests than originally thought.
The new evidence comes from the trial of William and Michael Pope, who face obstruction of Congress, civil disorder and trespassing charges. William Pope has been trying to have a federal judge unseal evidence, including video footage, that he says will show a more complete picture of government’s covert operations that day.
On Friday, the U.S. government filed a response to Pope, making some shocking admissions that appear to support his claims. Prosecutors admitted that some of the Jan. 6 footage under seal includes body camera recordings from undercover police officers who were urging protestors inside the Capitol building.
“The specific footage, GoPro video recorded by an MPD Police Officer who was stationed at the Capitol in an evidence-gathering capacity, captures the officer shouting words to the effect of ‘Go! Go! Go!’ and ‘Keep going! Keep going!’ apparently to the individuals in front of him on the balustrade of the U.S. Capitol’s northwest staircase around 2:15 p.m.,” prosecutors said in their filing.
“At other times in these videos, the officer and the two other plain clothes officers with him appear to join the crowd around them in various chants, to include ‘drain the swamp,’ ‘U.S.A.! U.S.A.! U.S.A.!’ and ‘whose house? Our house!’”
Despite these admissions, the U.S. government still wants to keep Jan. 6 footage secret. According to Friday’s filing, prosecutors are worried about their case being tried in the public instead of in a federal courtroom.
“The defendant is not entitled to ‘undesignate’ these videos to share them with unlimited third parties. His desire to try his case in the media rather than in a court of law is illegitimate, and the government has met its burden to show the necessity of the protective order,” prosecutors argued.
Also on Friday, seemingly the same footage described by the prosecutors in their filing was leaked online. Pope was quick to clarify that he was not the leaking party, as that would be a violation of the judge’s orders.
Apparently, someone released part of the undercover police provocateur footage. This was not me, and I would never violate the protective order by releasing sealed evidence.
My motion to unseal the original footage and other exhibits through the legal process is still pending. https://t.co/7wXX6JthjT
— 🇺🇸 (@FreeStateWill) March 25, 2023
The leaked video, titled on Rumble as “JANUARY 6 CARE PACKAGE,” shows exactly what prosecutors described: Several plainclothes police officers pretending to be Trump supporters, urging other protestors to break the law and enter the Capitol. The footage can be seen here:
The Popes have a status hearing for their case on April 3. A trial date has yet to be set.
Ken Silva is a staff writer at Headline USA. Follow him at twitter.com/jd_cashless.
