Former Representative Liz Cheney has posted some footage from the Jan 6th Capitol insurrection on social media… and commenters weren’t particularly pleased about it.
Not an Insurrection
“Here’s some January 6th video for you,” Cheney said in response to Mike Johnson’s promise to release unseen footage. MAGA Republicans have been calling for this unseen footage to be released for quite some time in an attempt to prove their belief that the event was not an insurrection.
Pushing the MAGA Agenda
Previously, former Speaker Kevin McCarthy gave 50,000 hours of footage to right-wing commentator Tucker Carlson, who then had the footage selectively edited to push the MAGA agenda. Carlson is known for his conservative, right-wing views.
Fighting, Shouting, Screaming, and Chaos
Cheney only shared 31 seconds of footage but her message was clear – Jan 6th was a violent insurrection. The video showed fighting, shouting, screaming, and chaos. Perhaps more interestingly though, the responses provided insight into the thoughts and opinions of individuals from across the United States.
Dressed Up in MAGA Gear
“How convenient, men dressed up in MAGA gear. It’s not like bad actors could have intentionally worn those clothes to make Trump look bad or anything,” one commenter said, suggesting that the insurrectionists were actually left-wing actors.
The Whole Story
Others accused Cheney of not showing the whole story: “Liz, at least be honest and show what preceded this outburst. Back it up by 10 minutes. Show the man in black persuading the police to open the barricade and then wave in the people. Either show it all or don’t bother. I used to think you were more honest than this.”
A Right-Wing Bias
The vast majority of individuals who responded to Cheney’s post were supportive of the insurrectionists, perhaps indicating a right-wing bias on the social media platform in question. “You’re a stain on our republic,” one individual wrote.
Questioning Johnson’s Motivations
On other social media websites, the public opinion was different – and nothing illustrates it better than the response to Speaker Johnson’s promise to release unseen footage. “It’s never about truth, it’s about finding moments that can be portrayed as fitting their narrative to give the base something to latch onto,” one person said, questioning Johnson’s motivations.
MAGA Conspiracy Theories
Many people worried that Johnson’s release of the footage would lead to more MAGA conspiracy theories: “They’re going to release a bunch of blurred videos, which will lead to their base screaming, ‘Look, they’re blurring all the faces to protect the FBI plants.’”
The Right-Wing Echo Chamber
Some questioned why Johnson was releasing the footage. Others explained: “There’s a belief in the right-wing echo chamber that the footage exonerates Trump and the insurrectionists for… reasons. It’s been hard for me to parse exactly. One assertion is that the footage has been taken out of context and that it must be viewed in totality to understand it. They also, of course, believe Antifa is responsible but the faces of ‘private citizens’ will be blurred to protect against retaliation, according to Speaker Johnson.”
Protecting the Country From Terrible People
Another commenter wrote: “They think [releasing the footage] will foster nihilism and let the retrumplicans continue to try and eliminate democracy and tear up the Constitution. It won’t. It will eternally remind us that there are terrible people this country needs to be protected from. It will galvanize our resolve to save democracy.”
No Such Thing as Alternative Facts
Quite a few people said they’d seen enough Jan 6th footage: “We won’t forget what we saw with our own eyes as it unfolded. We also won’t forget how Republicans rallied behind their dear leader and continue to do so. You can show us all the cherry-picked and creatively-edited stuff you want to but there’s no such thing as alternative facts.”
Just for Curiosity’s Sake
Another person wrote: “The footage might be important for individual defendants but, in general, it is just for curiosity’s sake. The nation and world watched it happen live on TV for almost an entire day and know what happened. It was no high school field trip to the Capitol, regardless of what the MAGA cult wants us to believe.”
A Trump-Supporting Lackey
Others accused Johnson of attempting to “divert attention.” One such individual said: “Just another weak attempt by a Trump-supporting lackey to divert attention from the fact that Trump encouraged a violent insurrection and, for over three hours, refused to lift a finger to stop the chaos.”
Kissing Up to the Far-Right
One person speculated about Johnson’s intentions: “This may not go the way he thinks it will go. He’s tryna kiss up to the extreme right because they’re mad at him for actually doing his job when it came to the shutdown. They just don’t want to McCarthy him because they know they would pay a heavier price for putting the country through that fiasco again.”
Beyond Defensible Actions
One person made a prediction regarding the public’s response to the footage: “Conservative outlets will only show peaceful moments and say that this was not an attack on the Capitol. Liberal outlets will only show violent moments and will say everyone there was there to attack the Capitol. Independents already know that while not everyone was there to attack the Capitol, quite a few people did and their actions were beyond defensible.”
Exposing Public Officials
Echoing the aforementioned commenter, another individual said: “The general public knows who did what on Jan 6th. Some people leisurely walked through the Capitol and some rioted and trashed the place. The rioters are being arrested, tried and, if convicted, sent to prison. The video will expose some public officials as liars.”
Skeptical About Intentions
It’s clear from the responses to both Cheney’s social media post and Johnson’s announcement that America is still very divided when it comes to the events of Jan 6th. Moreover, people are skeptical about the intentions of those in positions of power like Johnson, with many commenters suggesting that he’s intentionally giving away the positions of cameras to future Capitol rioters.
Online Echo-Chambers
It’s also evident that people are beginning to form online echo chambers. The responses to Cheney’s post were overwhelmingly far-right in opinion, often criticizing her for implying that Jan 6th was a violent insurrection. Conversely, other platforms were overwhelmingly left-leaning.
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