U.S. Capitol Police officer shares firsthand account of Jan. 6 attack
Summary
Warning:
This video contains the use of the N-word when describing phrases used during the events of Jan. 6. All expletives have been censored.
A day after the release of a Senate report detailing the widespread security failures in the Jan. 6 Capitol riot, PBS NewsHour spoke with one of the police officers on the scene that day. Officer James Blassingame, a 17-year veteran of the Capitol Police who is involved in a civil lawsuit against former President Donald Trump, joined Lisa Desjardins to discuss his experiences when a violent mob stormed the Capitol. His story is one of many harrowing experiences from Jan. 6, 2021.
Key terms:
partisan
: a strong supporter of a political party, cause or person
bipartisan
: cooperation or agreement of two political parties that usually oppose each other's policies
Five Facts
Who
is Officer James Blassingame?
Why
is Blassingame filing a lawsuit?
What
are some of the ways Blassingame describes his experiences from Jan. 6, 2021?
When
did the bipartisan report from the Senate come out?
Where
are the senators featured in the clip from?
How
were Republican members of Congress describing the events of Jan. 6th in the video?
Focus Questions
Do you think it’s important that the Senate report on Jan. 6 is bipartisan? Explain.
What are some advantages and disadvantages of making sure the report is bipartisan?
Media literacy:
What parts of this video contributed to your understanding of Officer Blassingame's perspective? What forms of media (photo, social media, text, etc.) could have been added to help your understanding of the story?
For More
To learn more about the events of Jan. 6th, see the PBS NewsHour clips below:
For more resources on teaching about the insurrection, check out this PBS NewsHour Extra
classroom resource
.
For a fuller picture of the Jan. 6 riot, click
here
.
