One of the key criticisms against Democrats and, in particular, former Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) concerning Jan. 6, 2021, is that there's still a ton of unseen security footage from the Capitol on that day that many believe could contribute critical context to what happened that day. 

According to Breitbart, with Republican Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) at the helm in the lower chamber, that security footage could soon see the light of day.

On Thursday, the newly-minted speaker told reporters that he will, in fact, release all of the unseen J6 surveillance footage.

Attempts to have the footage released over the past two years have been met with fierce resistance, which only fueled the fire of speculation and conspiracy.

McCarthy's promise

The release of the J6 footage is one of McCarthy's many promises upon Republicans taking back control of the House for the 118th Congress.

"I want to be very thoughtful about it, but yes, I’m engaged to do that," McCarthy told the press last week.

Speaker McCarthy promises to release all of the security footage from January 6 pic.twitter.com/WgBYhSYRxZ

— Citizen Free Press (@CitizenFreePres) January 12, 2023

"I think the public should see what happened on that day. I watched what Nancy Pelosi did, where she politicized it. Where for the first time in the history as a Speaker, not allowing the minority to appoint to a committee," McCarthy continued.

He added: "We watched the politicization of this. I think the American public should actually see what happened instead of a report that’s written on a political basis."

"The video has been designated security information and is therefore protected from public disclosure. Releasing it would ultimately be up to the Capitol Police Board and not the Department," a U.S. Capitol Police spokesperson said previously as far as why the tapes haven't been released.

Gaetz agrees

Though tensions between McCarthy and Florida Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz ran high over the past few weeks in the lead-up to the contentious speakership vote, Gaetz agrees that the footage should be released to the public, as the American public has a right to know everything that happened that day and not just hand-picked moments that Democrats chose to weaponize the situation.

"Kevin McCarthy told us he‘s going to get the evidence out in front of the American people, and that means releasing the 14,000 hours of tapes that have been hidden. That I think would give more full context to that day, rather than the cherry-picked moments that the January 6 committee tried to use to inflame and further divide our country," Gaetz said.

"Thank you to the 20 patriots who helped EARN this commitment from the Speaker. Thank you @SpeakerMcCarthy for affirming this commitment you made. Keeping promises is how trust is built. I’m growing more optimistic by the day!" Gaetz tweeted.

Only time will tell when the full surveillance footage release will happen, but when it does, it's going to make for one heck of a news cycle.