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These videos show how violent the mob was during the attack on the Capitol building

By Brittany Bowker Globe Staff,Updated January 9, 2021, 5:56 a.m.
A flag at half mast at the US Capitol building Friday.Doug Mills/Associated Press

In the days following the Trump-incited attack on the US Capitol, a number of videos from the scene have come into the limelight, demonstrating just how violent things got in Washington on Jan. 6 when rioters forced their way past law enforcement to charge the building, leading to the death of five individuals.

A video released Friday showed the fatal shooting by police of Trump supporter and Air Force veteran Ashli Babbitt, where she and others attempted to breach a barricaded door inside the building, angrily demanding that Capitol Police officers step aside. The clip shows demonstrators breaking glass, shouting, and eventually Babbitt being shot by an officer on the other side of the door as she climbed toward a section of the broken glass.

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Warning: This video contains graphic content.

Another video released Friday shows rioters at the entrance of the west side of the Capitol trying to force their way in. Officers can be heard demanding rioters go home as they pushed against law enforcement on the other side of the door. At one point, an officer appears to get stuck and crushed in between a section of the door and the mob as it tried to force its way in. The officer yells in pain for about five seconds.

Warning: This video contains graphic content.

Some videos depict scenes where it appears that officers may have opened the gates outside the US Capitol, allowing rioters in.

A video released Friday shows one masked officer outside the Capitol waving the mob towards the building, and another shows an officer holding hands with a rioter, appearing to guide her down the Capitol steps.

A clip from the top of the Capitol steps shows several members of the mob swinging bats and batons, and throwing heavy objects towards the entrance of the building.

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Alarms sounded as rioters stormed the building, and in one clip, members of the mob appeared to aggressively grab hold of an officer. A voice out-of-frame can be heard saying, “Stop touching him.”

Another video shows one rioter using what appears to be a police shield to break glass on one of the Capitol building’s windows before climbing inside.

Rioters chanting “treason!” can be heard as rioters charged inside.

Another video from outside the Capitol shows officers and members of the mob throwing punches at each other.

A CNN correspondent shared a video of some of the aftermath.

Brittany Bowker can be reached at brittany.bowker@globe.com. Follow her @brittbowker and also on Instagram @brittbowker.

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