Capitol Police respond to Jan. 6 video, say officers were trying to 'deescalate' Shaman situation

Capitol Police said Tuesday that its officers were trying to "deescalate" the situation with Jan. 6 protester Jacob Chansley, better known as QAnon Shaman, responding to video footage that aired Monday evening on Fox News.

The footage appears to show officers walking with the horn-hatted Chansley through the halls of the U.S. Capitol Building.

Capitol police were asked for their response to the footage and the argument that an effort was not made to stop the Jan. 6 demonstrator from reaching the Senate floor.

"Before this video was recorded, a violent group of people fought through multiple police lines and illegally broke into the U.S. Capitol, which was closed for a Joint Session of Congress," the police force said in a statement to Just the News.

The statement then refers to comments the officer made in the HBO documentary "Four Hours" about the matter.

"The sheer number of them compared to us, I knew ahead there was no way we could all get physical with them, so I took it upon myself to try to talk to them," the Capitol Police spokesperson quoted the officer saying in the documentary.

The police force statement also reads: "Moments earlier, our officers and agents had to evacuate the Senate chamber, which was closed to the public, to rush elected officials and staffers to safety. After that, multiple people snuck into the chamber. The officer was vastly outnumbered by rioters. At this point, it is clear the officer is trying to get everyone out of the chamber."

In addition, the Capitol Police statement refers to previously made-public video, in which the officer seemed to attempt to persuade protestors in the Senate chamber to leave. The spokesperson also referred to the officers' public statements about not being able to force them to leave because he was alone at the time.

"Any chance I could get you guys to leave the Senate wing?" the officer had asked, according to the U.S. Capitol Police statement.

Eventually, the officer "called for backup on the radio and got several other Capitol Police and DC Metropolitan Police Department officers to clear the Senate Chamber," the spokesperson said.

According to the spokesperson, one of the officers in the video footage seen Monday night on Fox News is a member of the Capitol Police force and the other one might not be with the force any longer.