Nick Quested was one of the witnesses who testified during the public hearing held by the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol. The 52-year-old filmmaker followed the Proud Boys, a far-right group, for a significant period of time before and during the rioting. The members of the group clashed with police and stormed the US Capitol building.

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Quested, who hails from London, England, owns a film distribution company named Goldcrest Films which has produced movies such as the 1989 animated film “All Dogs Go to Heaven.”

He has received two Emmy Awards, including one for his work on the documentary film “Restrepo” in 2010.

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While testifying at the hearing on Thursday, Quested said that he was working on a documentary in the winter of 2020 and as a part of it, he filmed several rallies that were held in Washington, DC. That was when he learned that a rally would take place in the mall on January 6. He and some of his colleagues decided to document the event. 

“We arrived at the mall and observed a large contingent of Proud Boys marching toward the Capitol. I documented the crowd turn from protestors to rioters to insurrectionists. I was surprised at the size of the group, the anger and the profanity,” he said. 

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“For anyone who didn’t understand how violent that event was — I saw it, I documented it, and I experienced it. I heard incredibly aggressive chanting and I subsequently shared that footage with the authorities.”