Four Hours at the Capitol (2021)

Directed by: Jamie Roberts | 92 minutes | documentary

In the presidential election in November 2020, Joe Biden was elected president by a comfortable majority, defeating incumbent President Donald Trump. Trump supporters — and the loser himself — claimed widespread fraud and the election had been “stolen” by the Democrats. On January 6, 2021, the ballot results of the 50 states were officially certified during a formal session of Congress in Washington DC. In the Capitol, Vice President Mike Pence, in his constitutional role as Senate President, was tasked with formally determining the results. Meanwhile, Trump delivered an incendiary speech nearby to his fanatical supporters gathered there. Even before Trump’s speech was over, the first groups marched towards the Capitol. The session of parliament had to be adjourned, while hundreds of Trump supporters forced their way into the building.

The penetrating documentary ‘Four Hours at the Capitol’ shows images of that day: including security cameras, videos shot with the mobile phones of the participants and journalists present and so-called “bodycams” ​​of police officers. In addition, a number of protagonists of that day are interviewed by the makers. Several Congressmen share their experiences, such as Democrats Eric Swalwell (California), Jim McGovern (Massachusetts) and Lisa Blunt Rochester (Delaware) and Republicans Buddy Carter (Georgia) and the moderate Adam Kinzinger (Illinois). Participants in the storming of the Capitol also have their say: the far-right Proud Boys leader Eddie Block, reporter Tayler Hanson of the far-right medium The Gateway Pundit, also photojournalist Ashley Gilbertson of the New York Times follows the crowd into the building. The most haunting account comes from the police officers, including Mike Fanone and Jimmy Albright, who talk about their fear and how life-threatening the situation had been for a long time.

Those who saw the images live on TV that day saw for a while mainly people taking pictures and waving flags walking through the beautiful marble-clad corridors. The documentary shows how violent the storming was from the start: how barricades were thrown at the undermanned police officers and how windows and doors were forced. In the United States, residents often boast that they are the best country in the world, but the images are of a democracy in decline. While Congressmen and police officers rightly talk about insurgents and terrorists, Trump supporters call themselves patriots and patriotic. Couy Griffin, captain of “Cowboys for Trump” even claims that those who used violence may not have been Trump supporters at all. He says anyone can wear a Trump hat. The cognitive dissonance is painful to watch. Storming and obstructing a constitutional assembly of parliament is proudly seen by the insurgents as an ultimate act of defiance. That is a dangerous view for a democratic society. How this gap is ever to be closed is a mystery.

Ultimately, five people are killed and 140 police officers are injured. Four police officers commit suicide in the aftermath of January 6. In the Capitol, one woman is shot while trying to break through a door to get to the House of Representatives conference room: Ashli ​​Babbit. She is seen in right-wing circles as a martyr. It’s not for nothing that one of the interviewees is wearing a t-shirt with the text: “Who shot Ashli ​​Babbit?” (who shot Ashli ​​Babbit?).

The documentary ends on a sombre note, as the widows of two police officers talk about the loss of their partner. But the broader message is also bleak. As Deputy Jim McGovern laments, how are we going to teach people to separate fact from fiction? These four hours at the Capitol are not a definite end, not a past tense.

At the time of writing this review, the date of January 6, 2022, is approaching exactly one year after the events. A House of Representatives Commission of Inquiry, which includes Adam Kinzinger as a member, is collecting evidence about exactly what happened and how much organization and planning went into it. It seems that Trump circles had plans to stage a coup and prevent the election of President Biden. The storming of the Capitol could have helped them do that. It has not come to that, but it is becoming increasingly clear that democracy in the US has crawled through the eye of the needle.

And how is it going now? Donald Trump is considering running for president again in 2024 and has announced he will make a major speech on January 6. Its fanatical supporters still lose themselves in all kinds of conspiracy theories about electoral fraud and online rhetoric towards “the elite” has not abated. It is alarming how many Republican congressmen and candidates are adopting Trump’s rhetoric and inciting their voters.

“Four Hours at the Capitol” is a must-see for anyone interested in politics and hopefully an eye-opener for those who downplay the storming or dismiss Trump and his associates’ lyrics as harmless with a shrug.