Downplaying, dismissing and distorting the truth of the Jan. 6th attack on the U.S. Capitol

People who deny or rewrite history are called revisionists.

Revisionists downplay, dismiss and distort history for a range of reasons including glorifying inglorious heroes and obscuring the truth.

Once revisionists are exposed for perpetuating lies, they are usually roundly debunked and discredited by most credible and trusted scholars, leaders and the general public.

So, what do you call people who lie about what happened not decades or centuries ago but just months ago- specifically what happened in the Jan. 6th attack on the Capitol that left five people dead and more than 140 Capitol and Metropolitan police officers injured?

On that day, a mob stormed the Capitol and engaged in a seditious insurrection.

The pursuit of accountability and the truth on what happened in the attack on the Capitol is why the House voted in May to create a special committee to conduct an independent investigation of the insurrection. The panel would have been evenly split between the parties, but Senate Republicans blocked that approach.

When Speaker Nancy Pelosi formed the House Select Committee to Investigating the January 6th attack on the United States Capitol, she pledged that the Democratic-majority panel “will get to the truth.”

Pelosi said it was imperative to learn what happened on Jan. 6 when insurrectionist disrupted the congressional certification of Joe Biden’s presidential victory. She said the mission must be pursued in a bipartisan manner to ensure “such an attack can never happen again.”

Pelosi named Rep. Liz Cheney of Wyoming and Rep. Adam Kinzinger, as the two Republicans to the panel. They are participating over the objection of party leaders.

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy R-Calif and other House Republicans are refusing to address the Jan. 6 attack. GOP leaders are particularly reluctant to investigate Trump's role in inciting the riot as he spread false claims that the 2020 election was rigged against him.

McCarthy chose not to participate in the House Select Committee hearing after Pelosi rejected two of his picks because they have spread lies about the riot and disparaged the committee.

Despite Republican objections, four police officers who fought off the rioters in the Jan. 6 attack testified in the emotional House select committee hearing on July 27 and recounted the “medieval” battle in which they were beaten and verbally assaulted.

The brave officers described in vivid, personal terms the terror of defending the U.S. Capitol from violent Trump-inspired insurrectionist.

"It was like something from a medieval battle," said Aquilino Gonell, a Capitol Police sergeant who was soaked in corrosive chemicals and beaten with a pole that had an American flag still attached, while defending the Capitol. "We fought hand to hand, inch by inch, to prevent an invasion of the Capitol by a violent mob intent on subverting our democratic process." 

As a result of his injuries, he said had surgery on his right foot, would need surgery on his left shoulder, and will need further rehab for possibly more than a year.

Capitol Police Private First-Class Harry Dunn, who also testified, said he was assaulted and called racial slurs during the mob attack, which occurred after President Donald Trump's "Stop the Steal" rally. 

A crowd of about 20 people surrounded him, he said, screaming and calling him the n-word. Dunn said other Black officers told him they were called racial slurs.

D.C. Metropolitan Police Officer Michael Fanone told CBS News he was "tortured" on January 6, dragged alone into the crowd, tased and beaten with fists and metal objects. He said the attack rendered him unconscious and that he suffered a mild heart attack and a brain injury. 

He continues to deal with trauma, and so do his children, after nearly losing their father, he said.

Fanone said he feared for his life and pleaded with the mob, telling them, "I have kids." He said he heard the crowd chant, "Kill him with his own gun," and said, "I can still hear those words in my head today."

During his testimony, Fanone criticized people who have downplayed the attacks.

"What makes the struggle harder and more painful is to know so many of my fellow citizens, including so many of the people I put my life at risk to defend, are downplaying or outright denying what happened. I feel like I went to hell and back to protect them and the people in this room, but too many are now telling me that hell doesn't exist — or that hell actually wasn't that bad."

He slammed his fist on the desk and shouted, "The indifference shown to my colleagues is disgraceful."

After the gripping testimony from the law enforcement officers, Rep. Bennie G. Thompson (D-Miss.), the panel’s chairman, said that the hearing set “the right tone for the work of this committee” and that the panel would probably hold its next hearing before the end of Congress’s August recess. He said the committee would start issuing subpoenas for additional witnesses “soon.”

The panel must continue its work. Everyone who participated or incited the violence and lawlessness in the Jan, 6 attack must be held accountable.

Irv Randolph is an award-winning journalist. You can call follow him on Twitter @IrvRandolph and at the RandolphReport@substack.com