‘Suspicious’ tours day before US Capitol riot must be investigated, Democrats say
More than 30 Democratic lawmakers have demanded an investigation into “suspicious” tours they say were spotted in the U.S. Capitol Complex the day before the Jan. 6 attack.
The lawmakers, led by Rep. Mikie Sherrill of New Jersey, on Wednesday sent the letter to the acting House and Senate sergeants-at-arms and the acting Capitol Police chief saying many of them and members of their staff witnessed an “extremely high number of outside groups in the complex” on Jan. 5.
The letter noted that some of the signees “served in the military and are trained to recognize suspicious activity.”
It also called the tours “unusual” as visits to the Capitol have been restricted since March, when public tours ceased due to the coronavirus pandemic.
“The tours being conducted on Tuesday, January 5, were a noticeable and concerning departure from the procedures in place as of March 2020 that limited the number of visitors to the Capitol,” the letter reads. “These tours were so concerning that they were reported to the Sergeant at Arms on January 5.”
Lawmakers also charged that some people seen on the tours were seemingly associated with the rally near the White House the day of the attack, though the letter did not specify the nature of the connections or go into further detail.
President Donald Trump spoke to his supporters at the Jan. 6 rally and urged them to march on Capitol Hill.
Rioters then did and stormed the building as Congress was certifying the Electoral College results. The mob scaled walls and smashed windows, broke in the U.S. Senate chamber and reached the doors of the House chamber — delaying the certification as lawmakers were evacuated from both chambers.
“Members of the group that attacked the Capitol seemed to have an unusually detailed knowledge of the layout of the Capitol Complex,” lawmakers wrote in the letter. “The presence of these groups within the Capitol Complex was indeed suspicious.”
The lawmakers requested answers to a number of questions about the visits, including about logbooks of visitors, tracking to “ensure that one staffer did not bring more than their allotted ‘official visitors’ through multiple entrances,” facial recognition software and whether any individuals who were known to be at the Capitol Complex on Jan. 5 are being investigated for “their role in the insurrection” the next day.
The letter comes after Sherrill posted a video to Facebook accusing some members of Congress of providing “reconnaissance” tours the day before the siege.
She did not specify which members she was referring to or what evidence she has the tours were connected to the riot the next day. She told Politico that she referred the information she has to authorities.
Sherrill said during an interview with MSNBC that the only reason someone should have a visitor in the Capitol is for “official business.”
“So to see these groups around the Capitol Complex was really striking, and given what we know the next day of what happened, it’s really shocking that those ties were made,” she said. “And it was so odd to see them that my chief-of-staff called the sergeant-at-arms to say ‘what is going on,’ and he reiterated the only way these people could have gotten into the Capitol Complex was with a member or that member’s staff.”
She also told MSNBC she told officials who specifically she saw with the groups.
Her allegations come as The New York Times reports that the Government Accountability Office, a nonpartisan watchdog, has indicated it will investigate whether any members of Congress played a role in inciting the riot. Investigators have also said they’re working to investigate potential “seditious conspiracy,” Politico reports.
This story was originally published January 14, 2021 at 1:26 PM with the headline "‘Suspicious’ tours day before US Capitol riot must be investigated, Democrats say."
