Newly obtained footage 'appears to contradict' Russia Insider founder’s claim that he never entered the Capitol on Jan. 6

Although Russia Insider founder Charles Bausman was in Washington, D.C. on January 6, he has said that he wasn't among the demonstrators who entered the U.S. Capitol Building that day. But the Southern Poverty Law Center's Hatewatch reports that information from the Europe-based intelligence group OSINT "appears to contradict his account."

Bausman, who lived in Russia as an American expatriate for almost 30 years and speaks fluent Russian, founded Russia Insider in 2014. The English-language website has a decidedly pro-Kremlin slant, and Bausman has been an outspoken defender of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Hatewatch's Michael Edison Hayden explains, "The findings by the OSINT group build on Hatewatch reporting showing that Bausman traveled to Washington, D.C. on the day of the insurrection, then disappeared from his home in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, and reemerged in Moscow. In the months since, he has served as a talking head on Russian television, commenting on American affairs with a reactionary point of view. Hatewatch previously noted that Bausman claimed on a Russian Orthodox Christian-themed television station to have stopped short at the Capitol's balustrades without entering the building."

January 6 footage obtained by OSINT, according to Hayden, shows "a man bearing a strong resemblance to Bausman" inside the U.S. Capitol Building during the insurrection.

"In the Russian television interviews," Hayden notes, "Bausman claims to be a journalist covering the events of January 6 rather than a pro-Trump demonstrator. But the man the OSINT group believes to be Bausman — shown in side-by-side images in a tweet they published — can be seen wearing a red, Trump-branded hat, blending in with other supporters of the 45th president inside a hallway. The video shows the man strolling and taking video with his cell phone as rioters move through the Capitol building."

Bausman's sister Mary Watkins, according to Hayden, saw the January 6 image and told Hatewatch, "It does look like Charlie."