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There are certain cultural, national moments so significant that you always remember where you were when you heard the news. I can still vividly see the pattern of the shirt I was wearing on 9/11. At the other end of the spectrum, I joyfully recall living in a dorm on Election Night 2008 and all of us throwing coats over pajamas and running out to the park and dancing under a huge American flag once it was called for Obama. So it is with January 6. I was pet sitting for a friend, utterly glued to and stunned silent by the footage coming in, all while the rabbit ran circles around the coffee table. Memories are subjective, though, so one of the benefits of our current age of technology is the ease with which things are documented. Having a public record is essential for understanding what happened, and for combating those who attempt to deny that it did happen. So of course, Dementia Don has been on a mission to get rid of all evidence of the insurrection carried out in his name and under his direction. Only not so fast, says NPR: they’re vowing to keep a public searchable archive of everything related to Jan. 6.
National Public Radio reported that an investigation uncovered President Donald Trump’s effort to eliminate all information and intelligence related to the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol.
According to the audio report by Tom Dreisbach and Ayesha Rascoe, they have responded by creating a public archive of all videos, audio files, photos and other information available about the Jan. 6 attack, and they will make it searchable.
Dreisbach explained that the Trump administration is “actively trying to rewrite this history.” He recalled that when it all unfolded a few years ago, the public, along with Republicans, agreed that Jan. 6 was illegal and reprehensible.
Even Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) called it “an act of domestic terrorism.”
Five years later, everyone involved received a blanket pardon, including “great patriots” who attacked police. In a statement played by the reporters, Trump claimed they were not violent.
“The Justice Department has deleted records of those cases. It has scrubbed references to Jan. 6 as a riot. They fired dozens of prosecutors who worked on those cases. They even hired a former Jan. 6 defendant at the Justice Department, a guy who called cops Nazis and loudly yelled that the rioters should kill the cops,” said Dreisbach.
Once the details began to disappear, Chief Justice James Boasberg of the D.C. district court ordered the government to stop any and all removal of court records related to Jan. 6. It’s unclear whether that order has been followed, however.
“So, with all those actions to rewrite this history, we thought it was really important to just ground people in the facts,” he continued.
The 1,500 court cases included photos, videos and information that Dreisbach said most Americans haven’t seen. So, they took the “massive trove of evidence” to catalogue and ensure it is publicly available.
Is it surprising that Trump is trying to erase the record? Not in the slightest, and certainly not after his baby fists pardoned 1,600 insurrectionists on his first day back in occupation. But that doesn’t mean it’s any less revolting, another treasonous act among many this sinister clown show of an administration is taking that eats away at the heart of our country and our very selves. NPR is already battling for its life against Trump’s defunding maneuvers — it’s invigorating to see them dig in even more this way to defy Trump (a bold move that was seemingly beyond all the law firms and big studios that have settled with him, but I digress…). NPR’s Jan. 6 Archive can be found here; it is ours to use and protect. What a fraught way to mark the anniversary. I remember the day five years ago, and today I can’t stop imagining how horrified my 2021 self would be to learn that after all that — the violent cherry on top of an already shameful presidency — we let him in again.
PS — It feels like the refrain “Even Ted Cruz” is being trotted out with more frequency, another marker to signify we’re in #WorstTimeline.
I clearly recall some folks being appalled that these uncivilized thugs were being referred to as “deplorables”. 🙂↕️
I guess we all didn’t see what we saw that day, hundreds of people scaling the walls of the US Capitol like it was an invasion from a Marvel movie. Shame on us if we let the Thump administration get away with this. It’s his history and we should never forget it. Thank you NPR.
Thankful for NPR – donate if you can.
Our overlords are erasing and rewriting history as fast as they can. An archive of what actually happened is so important! Watching even 5 minutes of bodycam footage flared my PTSD so hard I had to turn it off but the truth needs to be preserved!
Yes this, a hundred times over. Less than 10% of NPR listeners donate to their work. Please donate today to protect and prolong their work. It benefits all of us
Good for NPR, I’m grateful.
I was tuned into CSPAN because there were stories that they were going to try to steal my state’s votes – so I had it in on in the background while I worked. I had a meeting (with all friends, fortunately) when it started and they all turned it on too. It felt surreal like 9/11 felt surreal – what do you mean people are storming the capitol, having been sent *down the street* by the outgoing president?!
It was chilling (still is) that the VP, Speaker, & Speaker Pro Tem – everyone in the line of succession not in the cabinet— were present and it took so long to bring in reinforcements. I was relieved when I heard Harris was taken away immediately and Biden was safe.
And then people voted this felon and insurrectionist in again! Including the states he tried to steal! I will never understand.
I’m always grateful to NPR and PBS for continuing to serve the public interest. This is why Tr*mp and his enablers have defunded – and now destroyed – the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. They don’t want a funding source for independent media that provides real journalism, and shines a light on what they do. Fascists only want state run media and propagandists.
Never forget Jan. 6! It’s a great day to donate to your local public radio and TV stations, as a form of resistance.
My deepest hope is that later, when the orange fog has lifted from your nation, people will find that the librarians and archivists, researchers and other quite folk who know how to find, store and hide material history, have collected Jan 6 evidence or been given it, anonymously. Anything at Library of Congress and National Archives could have been digitized quickly and stored safely. Those who catalogue the documents of history know when history needs to be saved. (We saw this happening in Ukraine, with archivists and researchers pulling together visual research of places and spaces, buildings, parks, and more before so many things were bombed.) Quiet heroes are everywhere.
My husband and I were both WFH January 6, 2021 and I had NPR on on my computer while I worked as was my habit (I’ve had to give myself news breaks since last November, but during TFG’s first term, I felt compelled to stay on top of EVERYTHING.) I remember calling out to him that there was a riot happening at the Capitol and then we watched and listened breathlessly as those criminals, egged on by the Criminal In Chief, tried to harm or kill sitting senators and congressmen, and did kill and harm Capitol police. And threatened to hang Mike Pence for correctly carrying out a ceremonial duty. I remember the details coming out in the hours and days to follow, and the condemnation of most of the nation, including people who serve in his cabinet now (Marco Rubio, was it worth it to sell your soul? Ted Cruz, I loathe you for so many reasons and your spinelessness is one. Mitch? Hello? Treason, anyone??) It was horrifying.
❤️ NPR.
My last donation of 2025 was to NPR, and it’s because of this level of journalistic integrity and professionalism.
Thank you to NPR for once again doing the work to benefit so many.