Never-before-seen footage and audio is being revealed at the January 6 Capitol riot hearing after 11 months of investigation

The House committee investigating the deadly Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol is beginning a series of long-awaited public hearings.

The panel hopes the televised hearings will lay out just how vulnerable American democracy is in the hope of spurring accountability and change.

Thursday’s hearing is the first of at least six.

TIMELINE OF HEARING

Chairman Bennie Thompson has opened the hearing and announced the committee’s approval to release the material.

“January 6 was the culmination of an attempted coup, a brazen attempt as one rioter put it shortly after January 6th, to overthrow the government,” he said.

“The violence was no accident, it represents Trump’s last stand, most desperate chance to halt the transfer of power”.

January 6 Select Committee Vice Chair Liz Cheney spoke after the chairman and declared that President Trump summoned the mob, assembled the mob, and lit the flame of this attack”.

Liz Cheney says that according to then-White House staff, Trump said rioters “were doing what they should be doing”.

Testimony from Trump officials asserted that Trump and his team were aware of their election loss but continued their mission to hold onto power with Trump spreading false and fraudulent information to convince Americans that the election was stolen from him.

Even Trump’s Attorney General says he “repeatedly told the president, in no uncertain terms, that he did not see evidence of fraud”.

Cheney stated that over the months, Trump devised a 7-step plan to overturn the election.

The hearing showed never-before-seen footage from within the Capitol on January 6.

The hearing will include a testimony from a Capitol Police officer and documentarian who were at the Capitol during the attack.

Meanwhile outside the Capitol many are rallying holding signs reading “not above the law”.

Some Americans have questioned whether the event remains relevant for many Americans but U.S. house speaker Nancy Pelosi insists that democracy is in everyone’s interest.