The House Select Committee investigating the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol has released footage showing GOP Rep. Barry Loudermilk giving what appears to be a reconnaissance tour to a group of Trump supporters in the Capitol complex the day before the attack.
In the video, a man can be seen taking photos throughout the tour. It’s that move that alarmed some Democrats after the events of Jan. 6 who feared some Republican lawmakers may have led “reconnaissance tours” through the Capitol, allowing rally participants to better understand the different passageways that lead into the building.
In an interview given on Jan. 6 as the attack was unfolding, acknowledged showing a small group of constituents around House office buildings the day before the attack.
He claimed they were “peaceful people that we met at church. They were supporters of the president, they just wanted to be up here as if it was another rally. He said those participants “immediately turned back” once they saw the “chaos” developing at the rally.
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But video shared by the committee contradicts Loudermilk’s description of the actions of the group he gave a tour to, as it shows one of the men in the group who later took part in the riot the morning of Jan. 6 taking photos of the stairs.
“There’s no escape Pelosi, Schumer, Nadler. We’re coming for you. We’re coming in like white on rice, for Pelosi, Nadler, Schumer, even you AOC. We’re coming to take you out, and pull you out by your hairs,” the man says, referring to several Democratic leaders and lawmakers: Speaker Nancy Pelosi (Calif.), Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (N.Y.), Rep. Jerry Nadler (N.Y.) and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (N.Y.).
“Public reporting and witness accounts indicate some individuals and groups engaged in efforts to gather information about the layout of the U.S. Capitol, as well as the House and Senate office buildings, in advance of Jan. 6, 2021,” Committee Chair Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.) wrote to Loudermilk.
The footage is a departure from how Loudermilk described the actions of the group he gave a tour to.
“The behavior of these individuals during the Jan. 5, 2021 tour raises concerns about their activity and intent while inside the Capitol complex,” Thompson wrote.
The tours the day before the rally drew particular attention as the Capitol complex was still closed to the public due to COVID-19, leading some Democrats to call for an investigation into why some groups that “appeared to be associated with the rally at the White House: were shown through the tunnel system that connects House office buildings to the main Capitol building.”
Thompson said the “review of surveillance footage showing the above-described tour is consistent with those observations.”
“The foregoing information raises questions the Select Committee must answer,” he said.
Loudermilk was subpoenaed by the committee in May alongside four other lawmakers, but has thus far failed to comply with the compulsory order for testimony.
Watch the video below:
Surveillance footage shows a tour led by Loudermilk to areas in the House Office Buildings, as well as the entrances to Capitol tunnels.
Individuals on the tour photographed/recorded areas not typically of interest to tourists: hallways, staircases and security checkpoints. pic.twitter.com/Rjhf2BTdbc
— January 6th Committee (@January6thCmte) June 15, 2022
