A federal judge on Friday delayed ruling on a Topeka man’s request to release video in his Capitol riot case that he says shows undercover Metropolitan Police officers inciting protesters on Jan. 6.
U.S. District Judge Rudolph Contreras said that before ruling on defendant William Pope’s request, he wanted to know more about news reports this week that House Speaker Kevin McCarthy plans to make more than 40,000 hours of Capitol security footage available to the broader public and to lawyers of defendants charged in connection with the insurrection.
The debate over the release of security footage from Jan. 6 intensified last month when McCarthy faced criticism for granting Fox News host Tucker Carlson exclusive access to view the videos. On Tuesday, the speaker said he would provide access to others as well.
