Update: Shorty after the publication of this article, Blaze Media published a clarification that the pipe bomb suspect seen walking by the Capitol Hill Club was not the same person who walked towards Capitol Police vehicles minutes later. Blaze’s report has come under intense criticism, but Headline USA will leave this article intact so readers can judge the evidence for themselves.
(Ken Silva, Headline USA) Blaze Media has published possibly groundbreaking footage that shows the suspected J6 pipe bomber seemingly interacting with Capitol Police the night before the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol Hill uprising.
The footage reportedly comes from Capitol Police CCTV files recently made public by the Committee on House Administration Subcommittee on Oversight. The specific finding was made by the social media user “Armitas,” according to Blaze.
“The alleged bomber emerged onto First Street Southeast from an alley between the Capitol Hill Club and the Republican National Committee at 8:14 p.m. Jan. 5. The suspect walked north past the Capitol Hill Club. As the individual passed under the restaurant’s green awning at 8:14:30 p.m., a Capitol Police SUV turned the corner onto First Street. The alleged bomber waved at the squad car and then pointed — it appeared — at the driver as the vehicle passed by,” Blaze reported.
“…The officer turned on the vehicle’s red and blue emergency lights at 8:15:44 p.m., just as the bomber turned and walked south down the Rumsey alley and disappeared from view,” Blaze added.
“The suspect was hidden from camera view for nearly three minutes behind the blinding strobe headlights and emergency beams of the squad cars. At 8:22:53 p.m., the apparent suspect emerged from the spread of light and crossed the street again. The individual was last seen on the security video at 8:23:08 p.m. as he or she walked down the alley a second time.”
While Blaze touted its discovery, others expressed skepticism. Those skeptics included Revolver News’s Darren Beattie, one of the leading reporters on the pipe bomb controversy.
I appreciate that people are taking an interest in the important pipe bomb story, but I have a couple of concerns with this piece
The piece interprets a gesture by alleged pipe bomber as "communicating" with Capitol police. Footage depicting this arm gesture has been around for… https://t.co/HXyJE8r9M2
— Darren J. Beattie 🌐 (@DarrenJBeattie) August 26, 2024
Either way, he next day a civilian purportedly discovered one pipe bomb near the Republican National Committee headquarters at 12:43 p.m., and a plainsclothes Capitol Police officer found another one outside the Democrat National Committee HQ at 1:05 p.m.—just as violence was picking up at the Capitol. Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., and other prominent conservatives have suggested that the pipe bombs were meant to divert law enforcement from Capitol Hill to respond to the bomb threats.
Blaze’s findings come on the heels of footage released earlier this month from investigative reporter Julie Kelly, showing that the DNC pipe bomb might have actually been placed on the day of Jan. 6—after the RNC one was found.
The footage from Kelly showed an apparent law enforcement officer from Vice President-elect Kamala Harris’s security detail exiting a DC Metro Police SUV at 12:51 p.m., and walking towards the area where the pipe bomb was found—with a bag in hand. Minutes later, the same officer walked back to the police vehicle with bag still in hand.
“What exactly was he doing? Did he set the device? And if he was acting on the up-and-up, how in the world did he not see a pipe bomb sitting right there?” Kelly asked.
For Revolver News’s Darren Beattie, who’s broken numerous stories on the pipe bomb case, Kelly’s footage makes it overwhelmingly likely that the FBI surveillance footage is fake and the bombs were actually planted not the evening before, but day of Jan. 6. Beattie has previously analyzed surveillance footage of the J5/6 pipe bomber, showing that the FBI has failed to release footage that would have shown the bomber planting the device.
Ken Silva is a staff writer at Headline USA. Follow him at twitter.com/jd_cashless.
