Washington has been rocked by another stunning revelation from the January 6 committee: video and photographic evidence that a GOP congressman had given a group of people a tour of the Capitol a day before the violence unfolded.
One of the men in the group allegedly went on to make threats on the Capitol grounds against House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, according to the committee.
The video cemented months of speculation that at least a handful of people who allegedly participated in the riot had planned to enter the Capitol itself before the situation began, and additionally may have done so with help from Republican members of Congress.
That charge was levied by Democrats in Congress just days after the attack concluded, and has floated around unproven in Washington for more than a year. It was raised by Rep Mikie Sherrill, a New Jersey congresswoman who in a Facebook Live Q&A with constituents a week after the Jan 6 attack claimed to have seen unnamed members of Congress leading “groups” of people around the complex on 5 January in an apparent "reconnaissance mission for the next day”.
Republicans loudly protested those accusations and accused their Democratic colleagues of politicising the attack itself. But on Wednesday, the January 6 committee revealed the first video evidence showing an alleged soon-to-be-rioter within the Capitol complex itself just a day before the attack — as well as others behaving suspiciously.
What do the images show?
Rep Barry Loudermilk, a Georgia congressman, is seen leading a group of roughly a dozen people around the House office buildings, which consist of the Cannon, Rayburn, and Longworth buildings. At one point, the group swells to about 15 members.
According to the committee, one of the men seen in a tour group led by the Georgia Republican would go on to be seen on separate video shot during the riot screaming violent threats aimed at Nancy Pelosi, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and other Democrats. The unidentified man has not been charged with any crimes as of yet, and he is not known yet to have actually entered the Capitol building during the riot.
In the images, the tour group is seen doing a number of things that struck longtime observers of the Capitol grounds as odd: They are seen taking pictures of seemingly random staircases, hallways, and even security checkpoints manned by US Capitol Police.
In a letter to Mr Loudermilk, the committee stressed that the group was suspicious because they were seen taking photos of areas “not typically of interest” to tourists, and stayed in the complex for several hours, longer than most tours.
Why are the images significant?
In the videos and pictures published on Wednesday by the committee, Mr Loudermilk is shown leading a sizeable group of people through not just the Capitol itself but the various tunnels and hallways through the various office buildings that make up part of the House side of the sprawling Capitol complex.
Let’s break that down. The Capitol complex itself is a massive labyrinth encompassing not just the main US Capitol itself but also half a dozen office buildings which serve as support buildings for individual members, committees, and various other Legislative Branch services. There’s also three buildings which make up the Library of Congress – and all of these are connected via a maze of underground hallways, tunnels, and stairways which is so large it has its own subway system to help members and staff get around.
Altogether, the complex presents a challenge for even experienced staffers and journalists to make their way around. For that reason, as well as the historical significance of the main Capitol itself, tour groups rarely find themselves traveling far around the complex and largely stick to seeing the House and Senate, as well as other areas of importance around the main building where historical artwork and architecture can be found.
That’s why it was strange to see images of such a large group being led around office buildings and not the Capitol itself. There are some areas of interest in the House and Senate office areas, but few tourists would find them more interesting than the Capitol Rotunda or other parts of the main building.
Mr Loudermilk’s group apparently never made it to the tourist-heavy areas of the Capitol Visitor’s Center or the floor of the House or Senate themselves, but spent hours wandering around the House office complex.
Notably, none of the areas visited by the tour group were breached during the attack, which largely remained focused on the outdoor grounds of the Capitol complex and the interior of the main building itself.
What did the committee say?
On Wednesday, the committee reiterated its request for Mr Loudermilk’s testimony and noted that its members planned to ask him about the video during a meeting with the congressman. But Mr Loudermilk has repeatedly declined to meet with the committee, according to lawmakers on the panel, necessitating the public release of the video.
The panel’s letter clearly suggests that lawmakers are continuing to gather evidence even as they present some of their findings to the public in hearings this month. And it suggests that Mr Loudermilk, like other members of Congress, could face a subpoena if he does not comply.
Members made clear in their letter to Mr Loudermilk that the presence of a man who threatened Speaker Pelosi a day later, as well as the actions of others in the group, warranted investigation.
“The behavior of these individuals during the January 5, 2021 tour raises concerns about their activity and intent while in the Capitol complex,” the lawmakers plainly stated.
What did Barry Loudermilk say?
Congressman Loudermilk responded to the now very public scrutiny surrounding his activities on Wednesday amid a flurry of queries from reporters.
He provided a statement from Capitol Police Chief Thomas Manger, who was sworn in in 2021 after the attack occurred and the agency’s previous chief resigned.
“We train our officers on being alert for people conducting surveillance or reconnaissance, and we do not consider any of the activities we observed as suspicious,” Mr Manger declared.
Mr Loudermilk added: “The Capitol Police already put this false accusation to bed, yet the Committee is undermining the Capitol Police and doubling down on their smear campaign, releasing so-called evidence of a tour of the House Office Buildings, which I have already publicly addressed.”
“This type of behavior is irresponsible and has real consequences -- including ongoing death threats to myself, my family, and my staff,” he claimed.
He gave no indication that he would comply with the committee’s request for a meeting.
How could this shake up the riot committee hearings?
Despite Mr Loudermilk’s protesting and the inexplicable statement from US Capitol Police, the presence of a man on the Capitol Grounds who just a day later would make violent threats against the Speaker of the House and other Democratic lawmakers will at a minimum spur more investigation from the committee.
Lawmakers will likely highlight the actions of Mr Loudermilk and other Republican members of the House in the days ahead, as they have already previewed evidence that some members of Congress sought pardons from Donald Trump after the attack occurred. And the pursuit of Mr Loudermilk himself could result in a subpoena, which others who have evaded the panel including fellow Congressman Jim Jordan are facing.
Others who led tours before the riot can expect more scrutiny from journalists and potentially lawmakers on the panel as they revisit the hours leading up to the attack.
Wednesday’s development also signals one important fact about the committee’s investigation: the ongoing nature of it all, which is likely to continue in the weeks and months ahead even beyond the end of public hearings. That could mean more explosive revelations about the actions of individual Republicans or even Donald Trump long after the last hearings conclude.
The final schedule for the remaining hearings remains unfixed following the postponement of Wednesday’s meeting. Lawmakers are still planning to host one primetime hearing to conclude the effort in the weeks ahead, as well as three additional daytime hearings.
