D.C. officer testifies: "It was clear the terrorists perceived themselves to be Christians"
27 July 2021
D.C. Metropolitan Police officer Daniel Hodges on Tuesday painted a vivid and emotional picture of the rioters who attacked the Capitol on Jan. 6, calling them "terrorists" and describing how unusual it was that they waved Christian imagery and Blue Lives Matter flags.
Why it matters: Hodges was one of four police officers who testified at the first hearing of the Jan. 6 select committee. Harrowing video footage from the day of the riot shows how he was violently attacked and crushed against a Capitol door by the pro-Trump mob.
What they're saying: "The sea of people was punctuated by flags. Mostly varieties of American flags and Trump flags. There was Gadsden flags. It was clear the terrorists perceived themselves to be Christians. I saw the Christian flag directly to my front and another had 'Jesus is my savor, Trump is my president. Another, 'Jesus is king,'" Hodges said.
- "To my perpetual confusion, I saw the thin blue line flag, a symbol of support for law enforcement, more than once being carried by the terrorists as they ignored our commands and continued to assault us," he continued.
- Hodges detailed how rioters identifying as veterans said they had "fought for this country and were fighting for it again."
- Others demanded that law enforcement refrain from attacking them because they "were not Black Lives Matter ... as if political affiliation is how we determine when to use force," Hodges noted.
Transcripts show George Floyd told police "I can't breathe" over 20 times
Section2Newly released transcripts of bodycam footage from the Minneapolis Police Department show that George Floyd told officers he could not breathe more than 20 times in the moments leading up to his death.
Why it matters: Floyd's killing sparked a national wave of Black Lives Matter protests and an ongoing reckoning over systemic racism in the United States. The transcripts "offer one the most thorough and dramatic accounts" before Floyd's death, The New York Times writes.
The state of play: The transcripts were released as former officer Thomas Lane seeks to have the charges that he aided in Floyd's death thrown out in court, per the Times. He is one of four officers who have been charged.
- The filings also include a 60-page transcript of an interview with Lane. He said he "felt maybe that something was going on" when asked if he believed that Floyd was having a medical emergency at the time.
What the transcripts say:
- Floyd told the officers he was claustrophobic as they tried to get him into the squad car.
- The transcripts also show Floyd saying, "Momma, I love you. Tell my kids I love them. I'm dead."
- Former officer Derek Chauvin, who had his knee on Floyd's neck for over eight minutes, told Floyd, "Then stop talking, stop yelling, it takes a heck of a lot of oxygen to talk."
Read the transcripts via DocumentCloud.