DOJ subpoenas filmmaker for Jan. 6 footage

The Department of Justice (DOJ) has subpoenaed a documentarian for footage he took of the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the Capitol.

Alex Holder was subpoenaed the same day newly appointed special counsel Jack Smith took over the Justice Department’s investigation into the effort to block the peaceful transition of power, as well as its investigation into the storage of government records at former President Trump’s Florida home.

The subpoena was first reported by Politico.

Holder was previously subpoenaed by both the House committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack and a Georgia district attorney likewise probing Trump’s effort to remain in office after losing the 2020 election.

While the congressional panel sought a wide array of records, including interviews with former Vice President Mike Pence and Trump family members, the latest subpoena from the DOJ is more narrow, seeking only raw footage from the riot.

A spokesperson for Holder said, “As we did with the other two subpoenas, we will 100 percent comply” with the DOJ’s order.

Holder is ordered to appear before a grand jury on Jan. 30.

Holder’s miniseries, “Unprecedented,” was released in July.

“When we began this project in September 2020 we never could have predicted that our work would one day be subpoenaed by Congress,” Holder said in a statement shared on Twitter.

“As a British filmmaker I had no agenda coming into this. We simply wanted to better understand who the Trumps were and what motivated them to hold onto power so desperately.”

News of the subpoena comes as the DOJ recently scored a major victory in its trial against members of the Oath Keepers militia who stormed the Capitol, securing guilty verdicts on major charges for all five members on trial.

Attorney General Merrick Garland on Wednesday indicated the department’s work was far from over.

“As the verdict of this case makes clear, the department will work tirelessly to hold accountable those responsible for crimes related to the attack on our democracy on Jan. 6,” he said.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.