BATTEN THE HATCHES

U.S. Capitol Braces for Chaos Ahead of Tyre Nichols Arrest Footage

On Thursday, five Memphis police officers were charged with second-degree murder in the case and fired from the department.

The Capitol Police are preparing in advance for protests that are likely to break out following the expected release of body camera footage of the arrest of Tyre Nichols, the 29-year-old Black motorist who died of unspecified injuries days after a traffic stop in Memphis. Two people familiar with the situation told Politico that the Capitol’s law enforcement arm is buttressing its security measures, with a reporter spotting workers unloading barricades near the Capitol on Thursday evening. The anxiety around the response to the footage has extended to the Capitol’s lawmakers, with CNN reporting that House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) met with Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) on Thursday afternoon to discuss the heightened safeguards. The city of Memphis is expected to release the video sometime after 6 p.m. local time on Friday. Nichols’ family watched the three-minute video on Monday, after which their attorney, Antonio Romanucci, said, “He was a human piñata for those police officers. Not only was it violent, it was savage.” Nichols mother began crying as Romanucci spoke, repeating, “Oh my God.”