Tensions high with first US Capitol riot probe testimony

Washington: A congressional panel investigating the deadly US Capitol insurrection begins its work on Tuesday in a hyper-politicised environment that threatens to undermine efforts to understand what led to the January 6 attack.

Six months after a mob of Donald Trump’s supporters stormed the seat of American democracy in the worst attack on the legislature since the war of 1812, the American public will hear the first testimony before a select committee that has quickly become a partisan flashpoint in Washington.

Lawmakers will receive first-hand accounts from police officers who were attacked by rioters who fought their way into the building, prowled the hallways hunting for the likes of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and sought to block certification of Joe Biden’s election victory.