Former President Donald Trump will be called to testify about the events of January 6, as footage emerged of Democratic House speaker Nancy Pelosi vowing to “punch him out” as riots raged outside the Capitol.

A House of Representatives select committee is investigating the events on the day the results of the 2020 election were certified. Trump falsely claimed that the election was fraudulent, bringing and losing numerous legal challenges, and urged his Vice-President Mike Pence to block the certification of the results – something he had no power to do.

Following a speech by the former Apprentice host a group of his supporters attacked the Capitol Building in Washington D.C in an attempt to prevent Congress from counting and formalising the electoral college votes. Five people died either before, during or shortly after the event, with Air Force veteran Ashli Babbit shot and killed by police as she and the crowd looked to gain access to the Speaker’s Lobby.

Trump had held a ‘Save America’ rally in the US capital earlier that day, repeatedly urging his supporters to “fight”. He will be called to testify under oath about that day after a congressional panel voted unanimously to subpoena him, though the advent of the mid-term elections means that testimony may not take place, with Republicans certain to dissolve the panel if they gain control of the House of Representatives in next month’s elections.

Trump reacted with fury on social media platform Truth Social, referring to the panel as the ‘unselect committee’ and branding it “a giant Scam (sic) presided over by a group of Radical Left losers, and two failed Republicans”. He also reiterated his baseless claims of widespread voter fraud, which he called “the reason for what took place”, and hit out at ‘Crazy Nancy Pelosi’.

The reason for turning his ire on the House speaker may well be new footage released from the day of the January 6 riots.

Footage shot by Pelosi’s daughter Alexandra, a documentary film maker, shows the speaker’s Chief of Staff informing Pelosi Sr that Mr Trump had been dissuaded from coming to the Capitol by the Secret Service. The 82-year-old responds: “I hope he comes, I’m going to punch him out. This is my moment, I’ve been waiting for this. I’m going to punch him out, I’m going to go to jail and I’m going to be happy.”

In video shown at the select committee hearing the Democratic leader can be seen speaking with fellow party member Jim Clyburn about potentially getting the senate back into session, only to be told that lawmakers still on the floor were putting on tear gas masks in preparation for a breach of the Capitol.

Rioters yelled “bring her out” in apparent reference to Pelosi, with supporters of Trump also erecting a gallows outside and chanting “hang Mike Pence”. The VP was sheltering underneath the Capitol building and in a phone call the House majority leader tells him: “I worry about you being in that Capitol, don’t let anybody know where you are.”

The Herald: APAP (Image: AP)

Democrat Chuck Schumer is shown pleading with Ryan McCarthy, then army secretary, to deploy the National Guard. The request had seemingly been denied by the Pentagon.

Trump being subpoenaed is likely to further inflame an already heated mid-term election race. Republicans are forecast to re-take the senate while Democrats hold the House, but a number of factors could swing things.

One could be a higher turnout of female voters following the Supreme Court’s decision to strike down Roe vs Wade, the judgement which ensure the right to an abortion. Voter registration has spiked among women, with ballot initiatives in California, Kentucky, Michigan, Montana and Vermont putting the issue front and centre and President Biden pledging to enshrine a woman’s right to choose in law if he has the votes to get it through congress.

There’s also the matter of Trump’s personal endorsement of Republican candidates, which he has only bequeathed to those who parrot his election misinformation. One high-profile Trump approved candidate is former NFL running back Herschel Walker who is a Senate candidate in Georgia.

His campaign has been dogged by scandal, with allegations that the anti-abortion candidate paid for a girlfriend to terminate a pregnancy, claims from his son of domestic violence and infidelity and a number of bizarre gaffes on the campaign trail.

Walker could still win his race in the conservative-leaning state though, with polls suggesting Democrat Raphael Warnock has just a narrow lead.