US House select committee investigating Capitol riot holds first public hearing

WASHINGTON - The US House select committee investigating the Capital Hill insurrection on Jan 6 of 2021 held its first public hearing on Thursday night.

Two panel members delivered opening remarks while presenting the findings of its year-long investigation, including previously unseen material documenting the event.

The panel, which includes seven House Democrats and two Republicans, also called two witnesses, including a Capitol police officer who was injured that day.

It was one of a series of hearings set to be televised throughout the month to show the public what investigators have uncovered about the Capitol riot.

Former US President Donald Trump's allies and supporters have charged the inquiry as a political "witch hunt" designed to tar Trump and the Republican Party.

On Jan 6, 2021, thousands of individuals -- mostly Trump's supporters -- stormed the Capitol in Washington, DC and disrupted a joint session of Congress in the process of affirming the 2020 presidential election results.

Approximately 140 police officers were assaulted in the Capitol attack, including about 80 US Capitol Police and 60 from the Metropolitan Police Department.

Authorities have linked five deaths to the mayhem. Four officers who responded to the attack reportedly committed suicide within the next several months.

The worst attack on Congress in more than 200 years, the siege led to Trump's second impeachment by the House shortly before his term officially ended.