The Fifth Anniversary Of The Jan. 6 Capitol Riot

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🗓️ 6 January 2026

⏱️ 39 minutes

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Summary

Five years ago today, thousands of rioters stormed the U.S. Capitol.

A number of them assaulted police officers with weapons and even looted the building. They called for war, revolution, and political executions. That’s according to thousands of videos presented in court reviewed by NPR. One former federal prosecutor who led the Justice Department’s investigation into Jan. 6 called it the “most televised crime in American history, if not world history.”

But the narrative around what happened that day continues to shift. President Donald Trump pardoned or commuted the sentences of nearly every Jan. 6 defendant, ending the largest criminal prosecution in American history.

What are we still learning about Jan. 6 five years later? And how is that day still shaping our politics — and the country?

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Hello, I'm Johnny O'Hanson, Jr.
0:02.7	Join me each week on In Black America
0:04.6	as we profile current and historically significant figures
0:08.0	whose stories help illuminate life in Black America.
0:11.4	You don't want to miss the conversation.
0:13.6	KUT Radio and Black America are members of the NPR Network.
0:17.6	Thanks for listening to In Black America.
0:30.9	Five years ago today, on January 6th, 2021,
0:33.7	thousands of rioters stormed the U.S. Capitol.
0:36.0	Jimmy, get him to the back. Get him to the back.
0:37.5	Get him to the back. Let's to the back. Get him to the back.
0:38.4	Let's get some fresh faces up front.
0:44.3	More than 170 rioters face
0:48.7	charges for assaulting police officers with weapons.
0:52.5	Some of them called for war, revolution, and political executions,
0:56.2	and even looted the Capitol building or used drugs inside of it.
0:59.4	That's according to thousands of videos presented in court reviewed by NPR.
1:03.8	One former federal prosecutor who led the Justice Department's investigation into January 6th
1:09.1	called it the, quote, most televised crime in American history, if not world history.
1:15.1	But the narrative around what happened that day continues to shift.
1:19.3	I don't take any part in whitewashing January 6th.
1:22.3	It wasn't a stroll through the Capitol.
	...

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