The death of Rosanne Boyland on the Capitol steps January 6, 2021 has long been a point of tragic frustration for Trump supporters — for those who took part in the demonstrations in DC that day, and those who watched the news unfold from afar.
Rosanne was a 34 year old woman from Georgia who lost her life taking part in demonstrations against what many viewed as a questionable presidential election lacking transparent integrity — to put it mildly.
She was initially identified and numbered among three people who died from “medical issues” during the protests, and was specifically reported as having died of a “medical emergency” according to a Fox News report published the next day.
City police said Thursday that Rosanne Boyland, of Kennesaw, Ga., died of a medical emergency during Wednesday’s violent protests. Officials did not immediately release additional details about Boyland’s cause of death. Kennesaw is a suburban community of about 35,000 people northwest of Atlanta.
Multiple videos showing different angles taken at various moments during the incident surrounding Boyland’s death have been released over the last few years.
But newly released footage has been shared publicly showing DC Metro Officer Lila Morris, the Officer who reportedly beat Rosanne Boyland as she lay dying on the Capitol steps.
Officer Morris can be seen in a hallway inside the Capitol building, exhausted and out of breath.
In the first moments of the bodycam footage she can be heard complaining that she injured her finger and complaining that she couldn’t breath — likely from the overuse of tear gas and the physical exertion of beating Boyland’s motionless body, as can be seen on multiple videos.
Another Officer can be heard telling Officer Morris to “take a minute”, and to “take a break from it” moments after Morris had repeatedly beat Boyland as she lay on the steps.
Recently released #january6th video shows DC Metro cop Lila Morris moments after fatally and repeatedly striking Rosanne Boyland with a stick. pic.twitter.com/Uc7CIr017f
— TOMMYTATUMNEWS (@BenKaxton) November 24, 2024
It appears that the new video was initially shared on X by Ben Kaxton (TommyTatumNews), a self-avowed January 6th researcher.
Recently released #january6th video shows DC Metro cop Lila Morris moments after fatally and repeatedly striking Rosanne Boyland with a stick. pic.twitter.com/Uc7CIr017f
— TOMMYTATUMNEWS (@BenKaxton) November 24, 2024
Ben Kaxton (TommyTatumNews) also shared this video today from Fedwatchdog.org, showing multiple close-up angles of the incidents leading to Rosanne Boyland’s tragic death.
— TOMMYTATUMNEWS (@BenKaxton) November 24, 2024
Boyland apparently collapsed near the mouth of the western terrace tunnel leading into the Capitol, and initial reports indicated she was killed as a result of being trampled by the crowd.
Those reports were later contradicted by eye-witness accounts, various footage of the event, and an independent evaluation of the original autopsy that determined her death was caused by manual asphyxia — not the “accidental acute amphetamine intoxication” as the medical examiner originally stated.
Footage also reportedly shows Officer Morris using a stick to strike Boyland’s ribs and head as she lay motionless on the steps at her feet, according to a report in the Washington Examiner from 2022.
At the time of the alleged strike, Boyland is believed to have collapsed near the mouth of the lower west terrace tunnel at the Capitol. Protesters nearby sought to procure assistance from the officers who were scrambling to contain the riot. Boyland’s friend, Justin Winchell, begged for someone to help Boyland. “My God! She’s dead! She’s dead!” he yelled at 4:26 p.m., according to the report.
ADVERTISEMENTAbout two minutes later, protester Luke Coffee came before the police officers and yelled for them to stop before being pepper-sprayed, video shows, whereupon a rioter throws a large wooden stick at the police officer, who uses the stick to strike Coffee and deliver a blow to Boyland’s ribs as well as two hits to her head despite her being motionless, according to the report.
After a back-and-forth with the protesters, which involved them attacking officers with crutches, the officers moved a seemingly unconscious Boyland inside the Capitol at around 4:31 p.m., per the report, where they began undertaking resuscitation efforts, including CPR and using what reportedly appeared to be a defibrillator, aimed a resuscitating her. Boyland did not arrive at the hospital until 6 p.m. and was pronounced dead at 6:09 p.m.
“We are not 100% [certain of] when she actually passed but agree it was in that time frame [4:21 to 4:26 p.m.] and probably before Lila Morris got hold of that stick,” her father told the Epoch Times. “No matter whether Rosanne was alive or not, we were shocked and appalled at the officer’s attack.”
Initial reports indicated Boyland was killed as a result of a crowd crush, but a medical examiner determined her cause of death was “accidental acute amphetamine intoxication,” the Washington Post reported last year. She reportedly had a prescription for Adderall, used to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, at the time, which the examiner contended caused the amphetamine intoxication.
Her family hired Park Dietz & Associates to evaluate the autopsy but determined her death was caused by manual asphyxia — a condition in which the body is deprived of oxygen, according to the Epoch Times. Her body was cremated, which made performing a new autopsy impossible.
In response to an excessive-force complaint filed last year against the officer who allegedly struck Boyland, the director of the Risk Management Division of the Metro Police Internal Affairs Bureau replied, “The use of force within this investigation was determined to be objectively reasonable,” according to the outlet.
The following video has been widely shared in the years since Rosanne Boyland’s tragic death, showing the moment Officer Morris repeatedly beats Boyland with a steel Police Baton.
After losing her grip on the baton, Officer Morris allegedly picked up a stick laying nearby and continued striking Boyland.
This is video footage of Metropolitan police officer, Lila Morris, beating unconscious Roseanne Boyland with a steel baton on Jan 6. When the baton flew into the air she continued to beat her with a stick.
Roseanne died later that day. pic.twitter.com/IVK5WyHY9m
— suzy (@Suzy_1776) April 6, 2024
This bodycam footage shared online in 2022 shows a different angle of the incident feet away from where Rosanne’s motionless body can be seen in different frames laying at the Officers’ feet.
You can hear protesters calling for the police to cease their attacks, and help the defenseless victim, multiple times throughout the video.
Did everyone see this video of Roseanne Boyle and getting beat by Capitol police officers on January 6th? @julie_kelly2 @DarrenJBeattie @ColumbiaBugle @McBrideLawNYC pic.twitter.com/tyIvlKICQO
— 3sidedstory 🇺🇲 (@3sidedstory) April 29, 2022
Unbelievably, this video shows a continuation of pepper spray or tear gas being used on protesters as they continue their attempt at saving Rosanne’s life.
The man in the red hat wearing a Sheriff vest who attempted to perform CPR as he was hit with tear gas, who was eventually pulled away from helping Rosanne Boyland, is Ronald McAbee.
He is wearing a Sheriff vest because he was in fact a Sheriff Deputy.
Former Williamson County Deputy Sheriff Ronald McAbee was sentenced to 70 months in prison for his trouble, according to a report by Fox News.
A man who was employed as a Tennessee sheriff’s deputy when he assaulted police officers protecting the U.S. Capitol from a mob of Donald Trump supporters was sentenced on Thursday to nearly six years in prison.
Ronald Colton McAbee wore a bulletproof vest with two patches — one that said “SHERIFF” and another bearing an insignia for the Three Percenters militia movement — when he stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6. 2021.
During a melee on the Capitol’s Lower West Terrace, McAbee dragged an officer away from a police line and punched another officer who tried to stop him.
ADVERTISEMENTMcAbee said he never intended to “strike fear or be part of the chaos” on Jan. 6. Neither officer assaulted by McAbee attended his sentencing.
“I wish they were here so I can tell them I’m sorry,” McAbee said before U.S. District Judge Rudolph Contreras sentenced him to five years and 10 months behind bars.
McAbee expressed condolences to the families of rioters and police officers who died on Jan. 6 and the days that followed. Minutes before assaulting an officer, he performed CPR on Rosanne Boyland, a Georgia woman in the mob who died during the riot.
Any further investigation into the actual cause of Rosanne Boyland’s death is impossible, as her body was cremated soon after the initial medical examiner’s autopsy was complete.
Join the conversation!
Please share your thoughts about this article below. We value your opinions, and would love to see you add to the discussion!