A Pro Se J6 Defendant Just Filed Something That Matters — 2,700+ Bodycam Videos

William Pope has been fighting this fight the same way I have: alone, pro se, no attorney standing between him and the record. Today he filed something worth every J6 defendant, every family member, and every honest reporter stopping to read.

What was filed

Pope filed a Notice to the Court stating that MPD bodycam recordings are no longer subject to the January 6 protective order. Attached to the notice are four spreadsheets listing more than 2,700 MPD body camera recordings that were produced in discovery.

Plain English

For years, bodycam footage from January 6 sat behind a protective order — meaning defendants and their lawyers could see it, but couldn't share it publicly. Pope has been fighting to get that footage unsealed since at least February, arguing some of it shows police actions that never made it into the public narrative. Prosecutors fought him on it, telling the court he was trying to "try his case in the media."

If this notice holds, the protective order no longer applies to this material. That's not a small thing. That's more than 2,700 recordings that were sitting in discovery, out of public view, potentially becoming reviewable.

Why this hits home for me

I've said it since the day I got out: release the bodycam. Let the tape speak. You cannot cross-examine a rumor, and you cannot defend yourself against evidence you were never allowed to see. Pope did the work — pro se, same as me — to make that principle real instead of just a slogan.

What I don't know yet

DOCUMENTED INFERENCE: Based on the notice as described, this appears to lift the protective order on a large volume of MPD bodycam footage from January 6. NEEDS AUTHENTICATION: The full underlying court filing, the judge's basis for the change, and whether this applies to all 2,700+ recordings or a subset. I'm going off Pope's own notice and public reporting on his case — I haven't independently reviewed the full docket, and I'll say so plainly until I have.

What I'm asking

If you're a J6 defendant, a family member, or an attorney with eyes on this docket, send me what you have. If this footage becomes reviewable, it needs to be organized, indexed, and preserved — not scattered and forgotten. That's exactly what the J6 Evidence Nexus exists to do.

The tape doesn't need a press secretary. Let it speak.