Nick Searcy can’t let it go.
The “Justified” alum has seen too many suppressed movies and interviewed too many individuals punished by Staff Biden.
The actor’s 2022 documentary “Capitol Punishment” confirmed the U.S. authorities cracking down on Jan. 6 protesters with excessive prejudice. “The Battle on Reality” bears a special title however builds on that legacy.
We’re as soon as once more pressured to contemplate a horrible query. Has the Biden Administration declared warfare on MAGA nation and, by extension, our freedom to protest?
The solutions aren’t easy. Some info stay out of attain. Searcy’s movie presents no rebuttals. It’s nonetheless arduous to dismiss the first-person testimonies suggesting simply that.
The 2022 movie included particulars that appeared far-fetched at first blush. Even conservatives could have questioned just a few of “Capitol Punishment’s” prices. Then, slowly, one information cycle after one other backed a number of the claims.
Searcy and co. proved prescient, and he introduced a number of the receipts.
The semi-sequel introduces us to extra Jan. 6 protesters. Some declare they dedicated no violent acts on that fateful day. Others report inhumane situations like undrinkable water and sheets of mildew clinging to the jail cell sinks.
We hear repeated examples of the U.S. authorities treating these political outcasts as lethal foes. Why escape laser-guided rifles and flash bang grenades when a easy knock on the door would suffice?
Are these grandmas, navy veterans and mild-mannered souls a transparent and current hazard? Hardly. And it doesn’t finish there.
Some Trump supporters describe being banned by main tech platforms like PayPal, Venmo and Patreon following their arrests. Others reveal a system the place taking a plea turns into the one possibility when going through the federal government’s authorized staff.
A couple of describe authorized nightmares the place crucial proof can’t be shared in courtroom.
“The Battle on Reality” uncovers a large overlap with the Christian group. Many J6 protesters have a sturdy non secular facet, which guides their path by the haze of punishment.
Did that additionally put a goal on their backs?
FBI Retracts Memo Labeling Conventional Catholics ‘Violent White Supremacists,’ Pushing Infiltration Of Christian Communitieshttps://t.co/Ba6tWkW73o
— The Federalist (@FDRLST) February 9, 2023
Like “Capitol Punishment,” “The Battle on Reality” sometimes sugarcoats the character of the Jan. 6 protests. Some had been clearly violent, and cops took the brunt of their actions. The melee that adopted proved a shameful spectacle.
Regardless of what number of instances we see MAGA patriots singing and praying that chilly actuality stays.
A haunting interview late within the movie finds a J6 protester describing how she practically bought trampled within the day’s chaos. Later, she claims Capitol police pummeled her with steel batons though she by no means threatened them.
Video footage from the encounter proves arduous to make out, however it seems to corroborate a few of her story.
She additionally claims that footage was held again from her authorized staff, a standard cost associated to Jan. 6 footage. Keep in mind how media shops howled over the prospect of extra footage being launched to the general public?
.@TomFitton: The Kevin McCarthyCongress instructed the courtroom that no Individuals ought to have entry to the Jan. 6 tapes, Congress has sovereign immunity, & the tapes ought to all be withheld as a result of they’re safety information. Speaker Johnson ought to launch the Jan. 6 tapes to Judicial Watch! pic.twitter.com/7MnlOzKgrA
— Judicial Watch ⚖️ (@JudicialWatch) December 9, 2023
She, too, bought an early wake-up name from a small military of police and federal brokers at her door on Arrest Day.
Is she making it up? Are the others? We’ve already seen sufficient Ring digital camera footage within the earlier movie to counsel in any other case.
“Reality” runs roughly two hours, and it’s surprising there’s sufficient galling info to push the documentary to that time. The movie doesn’t provide a lot in the way in which of slick manufacturing values, sticking to conventional nonfiction visuals.
The tales present all the required shade.
Documentaries can weave highly effective narratives whereas leaving key particulars behind. The mainstream media is professional at this strategy. We nonetheless don’t know all of the tales surrounding Jan. 6 and the acute actions to convey those that broke the legislation that day to justice.
The parents featured in “The Battle on Reality” might not be sharing all of the pertinent particulars of their circumstances. Searcy’s coronary heart goes out to the assembled voices within the movie, and he sometimes is overwhelmed by emotion listening to their tales.
There’s no “different facet of the story” introduced right here.
“The Battle on Reality” calls for we maintain digging into the matter, asking extra questions and letting the protesters communicate.
It’s arduous to disagree with that. It’s an American’s responsibility to take action.
HiT or Miss: What “The Battle on Reality” lacks in Hollywood polish it greater than makes up for in its dizzying array of inconvenient truths.