Minutes after the crowd filled the west plaza of the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, U.S. Capitol Police began firing on protesters with projectiles and explosive munitions after commanders ordered officers to “Launch!” and “Take ’em out!”
Capitol Police dispatch audio recordings obtained by The Epoch Times suggest police were not expecting that the surging crowd would attempt to breach the lightly defended west sidewalks leading to the Capitol just before 1 p.m. that day.
Exclusive ground-level video obtained by The Epoch Times shows the first uses of force on the crowd—between 1:07 p.m. and close to 1:11 p.m. on the Capitol’s west front—resulting in one protester being shot in the face and two Capitol Police officers hit by friendly fire.
At 12:46 p.m., Capitol Police shut down Constitution Avenue due to crowds streaming east, 24 minutes before President Donald Trump completed his speech at the Ellipse—two miles from the Capitol.
By 12:50 p.m., hundreds of protesters amassed east of the Peace Monument, pressing against the bicycle-rack barricades set up by Capitol Police.
Just after 12:53 p.m., CCTV security video shows, protesters kicked over the barriers east of the monument and streamed toward a second set of barricades guarding the northwest sidewalk to the Capitol. Five Capitol Police officers stood behind the second barricades.
"Priority! We just had protesters, Peace Circle, breach the line," an officer broadcast. "We need backup."
As members of the Capitol Police Civil Disturbance Unit (CDU) headed toward the Peace Monument, a second call came in. "We need people to step it up!" the same officer broadcast.
Less than a minute later, the officer gave an update but was now shouting into the radio. "We have more breaches!"
Security video shows that seconds before 12:55 p.m., protesters pushed through the bike racks, knocked over USCP Officer Carolyn Edwards, and began a dash toward the Capitol.
A Civil Disturbance Unit officer broadcast, "CDU-24 with a priority. We have a breach on the west front, First Street. Breach. Multiple units, send all you have!"
As the crowd galloped toward the Capitol, police scrambled to get ahead of the protesters. Construction workers who had been building the inauguration stage were evacuated.
A CDU leader broadcast at 12:57 p.m: "41/42, I have two hard squads en route to the west front."
Seconds later, protesters tossed aside barricades set up at the end of the sidewalk and streamed along a waist-high black iron railing protecting the west plaza. That barrier was breached at 12:58:41 p.m., and hundreds of protesters flooded the plaza.
A USCP captain called for reinforcements. "We need everything we've got on the west side," he said over the radio. "They're getting ready to take over the entire stage."
At 12:59 p.m., USCP Deputy Chief Eric Waldow ordered a "less-than-lethal" team (munitions officers) to the Lower West Terrace, one level above the plaza. He reported protesters were "non-compliant," and some were climbing the scaffolding.
Security video shows two less-than-lethal team members arriving at the inauguration stage outcrop at 1:01 p.m.
A CDU "hard squad" in riot gear formed a line to keep the crowd from advancing farther.
Exclusive ground-level video obtained by The Epoch Times shows the amped-up crowd interacting with officers along the police line. "This is our house, not yours," one protester said. Another shouted, "This is our country! We pay y'all's salary!" Others intoned, "Pick a side!"
A protester on the north end of the police line screamed into a megaphone: "You can't kill us all! We are here to stay! We're not going anywhere! We want in! We want in!"
Proud Boys leader Ethan Nordean was seen at the front line, calmly talking with several USCP officers at about 1:02 p.m.
As the crowd chanted "Stop the Steal!" and "USA! USA!" a small number of highly agitated protesters shouted profanities at the police. Most of the crowd—now numbering in the hundreds—was peaceful in those early minutes, the video shows.
At 1:03 p.m., a man in a green camouflage shirt pushed at a police officer, starting a scuffle. Both men fell to the ground behind the line. As two officers arrested and detained the protester, their colleagues along the line raised their batons to an on-guard position.
Some of the protesters tried to explain to the police why they were there. "I'm a combat veteran," one said. "If it's an unconstitutional order, it is our duty as Americans to disobey those orders. I know you guys have it in your hearts. Do the right thing. Do the right thing. That's all I'm asking.
"Lay down your weapons and let's go in there, all of us," he continued. "Together we can go inside."
At 1:05 p.m., the crowd on the southern end of the police line began to surge forward. One level above, an officer trained his crowd-control weapon down at the protesters. One man in the crowd gave the middle finger to the officers above.
Protester Christopher Quaglin, 38, of North Brunswick, N.J., pushed into a police officer and grabbed his jacket. Others around him said, "Whoa! Easy! Easy!"
Just before 1:06 p.m., Deputy Chief Waldow ordered the use of force on the crowd. "I got a crowd fighting with officers, pushing, throwing projectiles," he broadcast. "I have given warnings about chemical munitions. I need the less-than-lethal team positioned above me to identify the agitators and start deploying. Launch, launch, launch!"
The video, shot by a protester with a camera on an elevated stick, does not show fighting or projectiles being thrown in the area where Deputy Chief Waldow stood at 1:06 p.m. and where force was about to be deployed.
Just before 1:07 p.m., protester Joshua M. Black, 47, of Leeds, Ala.—who stood quietly at the police line—was shot in the face with a crowd-control projectile. The pellet went clean through his cheek, leaving a gaping hole that began to bleed profusely.
A bystander pulled him back into the crowd, where others rendered first aid, the video shows. The bystander who helped Mr. Black became enraged and screamed to the crowd, "They shot him in the [expletive] face!"
The video shows blood running down Mr. Black's face, making a pool on the ground. He spat blood into an empty water bottle. A man in a U.S. Marines cap pressed a bandage over the hole in Mr. Black's cheek.
As word spread that a protester had been shot, the crowd reacted with anger. "You're shooting us!" one man shouted. "This is a peaceful protest," a woman added. "Peaceful!"
"They shot him in the face!" a man shouted. Another said, "We are witnessing tyranny. We are witnessing tyranny right now. These Capitol Police just shot a patriot."
Mr. Black did not push at or assault any police officers. When one officer went down and was being assaulted, Mr. Black shielded him and told the crowd not to harm him.
Police later gave Mr. Black first aid for his facial injury. He stood in their midst and prayed for them, according to a document in his criminal court case.
Just before 1:10 p.m., the crowd near where Mr. Black was shot started pushing and shoving the police line. Two pepper ball rounds were fired from above into the front lines. Both missed the mark. The rounds hit police officers, one in the back of the helmet and one in the riot shield, sending clouds of pepper gas into the air.
The crowd began throwing items at police, including water bottles and what appeared to be a metal flag pole. As a few officers surged into the crowd, fighting with protesters, a pepper ball round hit a protester in the hand and exploded. During the scuffles, several protesters ended up on the ground, the video shows.
"I need more less-than-lethal teams over here," Deputy Chief Waldow broadcast at 1:10 p.m. "The indirect firing is not working. They are still not compliant. I've continued to give multiple warnings about chemical munitions being released. They are not dispersing."
Although the protester who was operating the camera was not far from Deputy Chief Waldow's position, no warnings about chemical munitions were heard on the video.
At 1:11 p.m., Deputy Chief Waldow ordered the less-than-lethal team to target two protesters. "They're throwing poles," he broadcast. "Have the less-than-lethal [team] target the subject with the baseball hat and the axe handle and the subject with the gas mask and the American shirt, the American flag shirt. He's assaulting an officer now."
At about 1:13 p.m., dozens of Metropolitan Police Department officers in reflective yellow jackets surged onto the south end of the plaza, dousing protesters with pepper spray and pushing the crowd back, the video shows. As they made their push, fighting broke out with the crowd.
Metropolitan Police began setting up a barricade across the plaza using bike racks. As they moved from south to north, MPD officers drove back protesters using high-velocity pepper-spray tanks. The crowd responded by throwing water bottles and parts of the iron barricade that were toppled by the crowd just before 1 p.m.
At 1:18 p.m., an officer directed the less-than-lethal teams to ramp up their assault. "We need the munitions," he broadcast. "Unload! Unload it all. Take 'em out!" A short time later, the same officer urged, "Less-than-lethal needs to keep deploying! Keep deploying!"
Almost immediately, officers started firing pepper balls into the south-central portion of the plaza. At 1:20 p.m., munitions were directed at the northern half of the plaza. Over the next hour, nearly 40 munitions were dispatched into that area.
At 1:26 p.m., Deputy Chief Waldow reported that conditions had not improved. "The group on the lower west terrace continues to be non-compliant, combative, throwing projectiles, fighting with officers, deploying their own OC spray. We continue to attempt to move them back. We continue to give them warnings as we deploy."
At 1:32 p.m., in the midst of repeated explosions on the north side of the plaza, a munition exploded with a bright flash and the burning canister bounced off the back of a man's right leg, CCTV video shows. He slowly limped away and disappeared into the crowd.