The videos – showing graphic moments of protesters hitting the police with metal poles, stolen shields and chemical sprays – highlight some of the most shocking moments of the riot, such as when the crowd struggled to overcome a police line to pass through a lower arch in the building. Capitol.
Even with so many arrests and filming already documenting the siege, the FBI’s release and asking the public for help to identify the people in the video shows how they continue to pursue cases of severe violence from the pro-Trump crowd.
The FBI release on Thursday now combines clips of protesters, whose faces are difficult to see clearly as they punch, spray or hit the police, with sharper images of faces in the crowd.
The Justice Department has accused more than 65 people of assaulting law enforcement, but is still seeking information to identify others involved in assaults during the insurrection, according to a press release on Thursday. The aggression cases are some of the most serious among more than 300 people arrested on charges stemming from the Capitol riots, which left five dead, including a US Capitol police officer, and injured more than 100 police officers.
Many of the 10 clips released on Thursday are extremely disturbing. One shows a protester grabbing a policeman by his helmet and banging his head repeatedly against a door frame.
In a 22-second clip, a man with a blue patterned mask covering his mouth is seen pushing an official’s face into one of the Capitol entrances. In a 38-second video, a man with a yellow face covering and a red backpack is seen repeatedly hitting the police with what appears to be a stick.
And in a 56-second clip, a man is seen using what appears to be a tree branch to attack officers who are preventing the crowd from entering the Capitol.
The longest video released on Thursday shows three minutes of footage of a man wearing a black, red and white jacket attacking police officers while another rowdy man was on the ground. An officer used a stun gun to drive the man away.
Another video shows a man in a navy blue windbreaker jacket with a navy blue hood up stairs that led to an area with several identifiable police officers. The unidentified man is seen throwing a cloud of smoke over the police and walking away.
“The FBI is asking the public for help to identify 10 individuals suspected of being involved in some of the most violent attacks against officers who protected the United States Capitol and our democratic process on January 6,” Steven M. D’Antuono, director assistant in charge of the FBI’s Washington field office, said in a statement. “These individuals are seen on video committing blatant crimes against those who have devoted their lives to protecting the American people.
Fanone told CNN earlier this year that he had been hit several times in the neck, had been beaten with a pole and heard people shouting “Kill him with your own gun” as protesters tried to pull his gun out of the holster.
Evan Perez and Devan Cole of CNN contributed to this report.