Victor Davis Hanson Questions Narrative of January 6 Capitol Riot
Victor Davis Hanson, a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution, recently raised doubts about how the Democratic Party has characterized the January 6, 2021, Capitol riot during an episode of “Victor Davis Hanson: In One Word.”
Democrats have likened the event to Pearl Harbor and 9/11, labeling it an “insurrection” supposedly incited by President Donald Trump. Hanson, however, disagreed with many elements of this narrative, suggesting they might be “inaccurate.” He pointed out that the term “insurrection” was used during Trump’s second impeachment, even though he was acquitted by the Senate after leaving office, indicating that something about the situation was off.
He continued, “There was always something wrong with the left’s story about January 6. They portrayed it as a complete pre-planned armed coup, yet we knew there were massive demonstrations happening.” According to him, it turned chaotic, and it felt like people were, in a way, invited in. Security seemed overwhelmed, and the unfolding events were evidently not as organized as some suggested.
Unreleased footage from March 2023 showed police officers appearing to guide a so-called “QAnon Shaman” through the Capitol during the riot, raising more questions about the official narrative.
Hanson also mentioned that the former House Select Committee had removed certain details regarding January 6 from their report, noting that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi declined House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy’s nominations for the committee.
He questioned the Department of Justice’s timeline regarding the arrest of Brian Cole Jr., who was linked to a pipe bombing on January 6. Hanson commented on the apparent lack of urgency from the Biden administration to investigate this bomber, suggesting that it felt almost intentional, as if he were being left alone due to political motivations.
He recalled that Kamala Harris had compared January 6 to historical tragedies that resulted in significant loss of life, which, according to Hanson, was a stretch. While five people died during the riot, only a couple of those deaths were violently connected to the events. He noted that Ashli Babbitt, an unarmed veteran, was shot by a police officer while trying to enter through a broken window.
Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick died after the incident, but the medical examiner attributed his death to natural causes, specifically two strokes. Furthermore, other officers, Jeffrey Smith and Howard Liebengood, died by suicide shortly after the riot.
Hanson criticized the actions of Lt. Michael Byrd, who shot Babbitt, citing a troubling history that included leaving a firearm unattended in a Capitol bathroom back in 2019. He argued there was an intentional effort to obscure critical information surrounding the events of that day.
Another point of concern for Hanson was the deployment of 274 FBI agents to the Capitol on January 6. He remarked on the conspicuous absence of any FBI presence during prior events, which seemed strange given how many were sent in after the fact.
Moreover, he noted that during a speech on that day, Trump described the audience as “peaceful and patriotic.” This, for Hanson, raised even more questions about the narrative being pushed. “Why didn’t they present all the information available? It seems there might have been a desire to frame the event as a calculated insurrection by Trump to justify his impeachment and further political consequences,” he said.
Hanson concluded, “There were demonstrations, and there were riots, and indeed those were wrong, but the larger narrative being pushed was essentially a fabrication.”
