The Jan 6th Capitol riots five years on… Why America is still divided
Americast
BBC
4.3 • 3.1K Ratings
🗓️ 16 January 2026
⏱️ 26 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Five years on from the Jan 6th Capitol riots in Washington DC, the narrative around what happened that day continues to shift and cause division within America.
In Congress, a new Republican-led House panel the Select Subcommittee to Investigate the Remaining Questions Surrounding January 6th 2021 held its first hearing this week. Republicans say it’s needed because the previous committee, led by Democrat Nancy Pelosi was a “sham from the start”, finding Trump responsible for inciting the riots.
But Democrats continue to blame Donald Trump, accusing the US president of pardoning hundreds of violent rioters and trying to reversion the history of Jan 6th.
In today’s episode, Marianna and Anthony discuss why the divisions continue, what the American public think, and who is winning the argument of what really happened that day.
HOSTS: • Anthony Zurcher, North America Correspondent • Marianna Spring, Social Media Investigations Senior Correspondent
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This episode was made by George Dabby and Grace Reeve. The technical producer was Mike Regaard. The series producer is Purvee Pattni. The senior news editor is Sam Bonham.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | BBC Sounds, Music, Radio, Podcasts. |
| 0:05.0 | It's now been over five years since January 6th and the attack on the US Capitol, and members of Congress are still debating what happened that day. |
| 0:15.6 | A new committee has been set up by House Republicans, which they say is going to investigate the real story behind the |
| 0:22.2 | January 6th attack and what the previous Democratic-led committee tasked with investigating the events |
| 0:28.1 | of that day did wrong. Now, the White House has even weighed in, perhaps not surprisingly. |
| 0:32.7 | They've created a page on their website that documents their version of what happened on January 6th. |
| 0:39.1 | The big question is, why is Washington still debating the narrative of that day? |
| 0:45.5 | And at this point, who's winning the argument? |
| 0:48.2 | Welcome to AmeriCast. |
| 0:52.4 | AmeriCast. |
| 0:53.3 | AmeriCast from BBC News. |
| 0:55.6 | When Donald Trump calls, they say, yes, sir. |
| 0:57.9 | Right away, sir. |
| 0:59.1 | Happy to lick your boot, sir. |
| 1:00.8 | We are the sickest country in the world. |
| 1:03.3 | Oh, dear. |
| 1:04.1 | Are you worried that billionaires are going to go hungry? |
| 1:06.9 | Of course the president supports peaceful protest. |
| 1:08.9 | What a stupid question. |
| 1:09.9 | Are you still talking about Jeffrey Epstein? |
| 1:19.1 | Hello, it's Anthony in Washington, D.C. |
| 1:21.8 | And it is Mariana in the worldwide headquarters of Ameriast in London. |
... |
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