WASHINGTON (AP) — One week after the nation marked the fifth anniversary of the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol attack, the history of what happened that day is being reconsidered, revised and reassessed by the party in power.
The House GOP's new Select Committee on the Jan. 6 attack held its first hearing Wednesday, what was billed as an examination of the FBI's investigation into the pipe bombs that had been found outside the Democratic and Republican party headquarters during the day. The FBI's work dragged on for years until the arrest of a suspect last month.
But the House hearing quickly devolved into a revisionist spectacle --- militant Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes sat in the front row -- as Republicans pursued alternative theories about why President Donald Trump’s supporters engaged in mob violence that day. They suggested the rioters were essentially tricked into laying siege to the Capitol, an attack watched around the world.
“There's been a lot of talk about conspiracy theories and narratives,” acknowledged Rep. Barry Loudermilk, R-Ga., the chairman, as tensions flared during the two-hour hearing. He said his “objective is to get to the truth.”
But the top Democrat on the panel, Rep. Jamie Raskin of Maryland, warned he and others would not sit by silently as the Republican-led committee tried to rewrite history.
“The truth is a resilient thing,” Raskin said. “We’re not going to put up with a pack of lies in this subcommittee and a bunch of conspiracy theories.”
What’s clear is that five years on, the national trauma left behind by Jan. 6 still engulfs Congress, and the country, as Americans come to terms with what happened that day, when Trump’s supporters stormed the Capitol after the defeated president told them to “fight like hell” as Congress certified the 2020 election results for Democrat Joe Biden.
It's the second time House Republicans, since they took control, have stood up a new committee to probe Jan. 6, as they dispute the findings of the original panel established by then-Speaker Nancy Pelosi in the immediate aftermath of the riot. That panel, which released its findings in 2022, put the blame on Trump for having incited the violence at the Capitol, part of a last gasp in his months-long effort to overturn his election defeat to Biden.
Trump was impeached on the charge of inciting the insurrection, but acquitted by the Senate. The Justice Department’s four-count indictment against Trump brought by special counsel Jack Smith was abandoned once Trump won reelection in 2024, adhering to department protocol against prosecuting a sitting president.
One GOP lawmaker, Rep. Troy Nehls of Texas — who was among those seen at the barricaded doors to the House chamber — called the original Jan. 6 committee a “total sham.” He disputed the eyewitness testimony of police officers who had recounted in detail how they were bloodied and injured in the mayhem as “highly scripted” accounts from “Trump haters.”
“They put on a pretty good show,” he said about the panel.
The Republicans tried to pin the violence at the Capitol on certain agitators, and they portrayed the militia groups who were central to the siege as having been entrapped by the federal government.
Rhodes, seated in the audience wearing a black cowboy hat, was among those convicted of seditious conspiracy over his role. He was among the more than 1,500 people pardoned by Trump once the president retook office last year.
At one point, Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Texas, turned to her colleagues, exasperated.
“I am so frustrated with this country and I don’t think I’m the only one,” she said.
“The conspiracy theories," she said, "are driving me insane.”
The panel did dive into the details of the pipe bomb investigation, as lawmakers tried to understand why it took federal law enforcement some five years to have a potential break in the case. Last month, the FBI arrested Brian Cole Jr. of Virginia on suspicion of placing the pipe bombs.
Republicans had long believed the pipe bombs were part of a potential inside job — a distraction that diverted law enforcement that day as Trump’s supporters marched to the Capitol to confront Congress.
“I've been concerned with this whole pipe bomb situation for some time,” said Rep. Morgan Griffith, R-Va.
He was among those questioning why bomb-sniffing dogs failed that day to discover the device outside one of the party headquarters.
Cole told investigators after his arrest last month that he believed someone needed to “speak up” for people who believed the 2020 election was stolen and that he was “disappointed” that Trump lost to Biden.
Rep. Harriet Hageman, R-Wyo., also probed why investigators overlooked various leads that day.
John Nantz, a former FBI special agent, testified to the panel that the Biden-era FBI under then-Director Christopher Wray was focused elsewhere.
"Every resource should have been made available," he said.
Hageman quipped that was the “understatement of the century.”
Trump's pardons of the rioters were also discussed, as Raskin detailed how many of those convicted in the siege have gone on to commit other crimes.
Mike Romano, a former Justice Department prosecutor, said he viewed Trump’s pardons as “ill-advised."
Romano said many of them remained proud of their conduct. “They have celebrated the pardons and tried to lie about what happened,” he said.
Pressed by Raskin about whether Trump's pardon would apply to Cole, if convicted in the pipe bomb case, Romano said it’s an open question.
“I don't know that there's a clear yes or no,” he testified. “And I think that’s a problem.”
The U.S. Capitol is seen at sunset, Monday, Jan. 12, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A judge on Wednesday gave the Trump administration time to respond to a request to suspend an immigration crackdown in Minnesota, while the Pentagon looked for military lawyers to join what has become a chaotic law enforcement effort in the state.
Plumes of tear gas, bursts of chemical irritants and the screech of protest whistles have become common on the streets of Minneapolis, especially since an immigration agent fatally shot Renee Good in the head on Jan. 7 as she drove away.
Agents have yanked people from cars and homes and been confronted by angry bystanders who are demanding that officers pack up and leave.
“What we need most of all right now is a pause. The temperature needs to be lowered," state Assistant Attorney General Brian Carter said during the first hearing in a lawsuit filed by Minnesota and the cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul.
Local leaders say the government is violating free speech and other constitutional rights with the surge of law enforcement. U.S. District Judge Katherine Menendez promised to keep the case “on the front burner” and gave the U.S. Justice Department until Monday to file a response to a request for a restraining order.
The judge said these are "grave and important matters,” and that there are few legal precedents to apply to some of the key points in the case.
Justice Department attorney Andrew Warden suggested the approach set by Menendez was appropriate.
The judge is also handling a separate lawsuit challenging the tactics used by Immigration and Customs Enforcement and other federal officers when they encounter protesters and observers. A decision could be released this week.
During a news conference Wednesday evening, Gov. Tim Walz described Minnesota as being in chaos, saying what's happening in the state “defies belief.”
“Let’s be very, very clear, this long ago stopped being a matter of immigration enforcement," he said. "Instead, it’s a campaign of organized brutality against the people of Minnesota by our own federal government.”
Walz added that “accountability” will be coming through the courts.
The Department of Homeland Security says it has made more than 2,000 arrests in the state since early December and is vowing to not back down. The Pentagon is preparing to send military lawyers to Minneapolis to assist.
CNN, citing an email circulating in the military, says Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is asking the branches to identify 40 lawyers known as judge advocate general officers or JAGs, and 25 of them will serve as special assistant U.S. attorneys in Minneapolis.
Pentagon spokesperson Kingsley Wilson appeared to confirm the CNN report by posting it on X with a comment that the military “is proud to support” the Justice Department.
The Pentagon did not immediately respond to emails from The Associated Press seeking more details.
It’s the latest step by the Trump administration to dispatch military and civilian attorneys to areas where federal immigration operations are taking place. The Pentagon last week sent 20 lawyers to Memphis, U.S. Attorney D. Michael Dunavant said.
Mark Nevitt, an associate professor at Emory University School of Law and a former Navy JAG, said there's concern that the assignments are taking lawyers away from the military justice system.
“There are not many JAGs but there are over one million members of the military, and they all need legal support,” he said.
Jonathan Ross, the Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer who killed Good, suffered internal bleeding to his torso during the encounter, a Homeland Security official told The Associated Press.
The official spoke to AP on condition of anonymity in order to discuss Ross’ medical condition. The official did not provide details about the severity of the injuries, and the agency did not respond to questions about the extent of the bleeding, exactly how he suffered the injury, when it was diagnosed or his medical treatment.
There are many causes of internal bleeding, and they vary in severity from bruising to significant blood loss. Video from the scene showed Ross and other officers walking without obvious difficulty after Good was shot and her Honda Pilot crashed into other vehicles.
She was killed after three ICE officers surrounded her SUV on a snowy street a few blocks from her home.
Bystander video shows one officer ordering Good to open the door and grabbing the handle. As the vehicle begins to move forward, Ross, standing in front, raises his weapon and fires at least three shots at close range. He steps back as the SUV advances and turns.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem has said Ross was struck by the vehicle and that Good was using her SUV as a weapon — a self-defense claim that has been deeply criticized by Minnesota officials.
Chris Madel, an attorney for Ross, declined to comment on any injuries.
Good’s family, meanwhile, has hired a law firm, Romanucci & Blandin, that represented George Floyd’s family in a $27 million settlement with Minneapolis. Floyd, who was Black, died after a white police officer pinned his neck to the ground in the street in May 2020.
The firm said Good was following orders to move her car when she was shot. It said it would conduct its own investigation and publicly share what it learns.
“They do not want her used as a political pawn,” the firm said, referring to Good and her family, “but rather as an agent of peace for all.”
Waving signs reading “Love Melts ICE” and “DE-ICE MN,” hundreds of teenagers left school in St. Paul and marched in freezing temperatures to the state Capitol for a protest and rally.
The University of Minnesota, meanwhile, informed its 50,000-plus students that there could be online options for some classes when the new term starts next week. President Rebecca Cunningham noted that “violence and protests have come to our doorstep.” The campus sits next to the main Somali neighborhood in Minneapolis.
Associated Press reporters Julie Watson in San Diego, California; Rebecca Santana in Washington, D.C.; Ed White in Detroit; Giovanna Dell’Orto in Minneapolis; Graham Lee Brewer in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma; and Hallie Golden in Seattle contributed.
Federal immigration officers are seen Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)
Hundreds of protesters gather in front of the Minnesota State Capitol in response to the death of Renee Good, who was fatally shot by an ICE officer last week, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026, in St. Paul, Minn. (AP Photo/John Locher)
Protesters gather in front of the Minnesota State Capitol in response to the death of Renee Good, who was fatally shot by an ICE officer last week, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026, in St. Paul, Minn. (AP Photo/John Locher)
Protesters gather in front of the Minnesota State Capitol in response to the death of Renee Good, who was fatally shot by an ICE officer last week, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026, in St. Paul, Minn. (AP Photo/John Locher)
Federal officers stand guard after detaining people outside of Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building, Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Adam Gray)
People visits a makeshift memorial for Renee Good, who was fatally shot by an ICE officer last week, Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/John Locher)
A person is detained by federal agents near the scene where Renee Good was fatally shot by an ICE officer last week, Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Adam Gray)
