MAGA Rep.'s Jan. 5 Capitol Tour Looked Suspiciously Like a Recon Mission, Committee Says

Rep. Barry Loudermilk (R-Ga.) led a group of a constituents on a tour of the Capitol last Jan. 5, which is a little suspicious given that a day later a mob of former President Trump’s supporters would storm the building in an effort to stop the certification of the Electoral College — something Loudermilk also opposed. The Jan. 6 committee asked Loudermilk about the tour, but on Tuesday the Capitol Police said they found “no evidence” he led a tour of people trying to gather information about the layout of the Capitol a day before the attack.

The Jan. 6 committee isn’t convinced.

The panel on Wednesday asked Loudermilk for more information, noting that people on the tour “photographed and recorded areas of the complex not typically of interest to tourists, including hallways, staircases, and security checkpoints,” and including stills from security footage of people taking the photos. “The behavior of these individuals … raises concerns about their activity and intent while inside the Capitol complex.”

The committee also noted that some of the people on the tour attended the rally that preceded the riot at the Capitol the following day. One of them who appeared to photograph a staircase during the tour marched to the Capitol on Jan. 6. He filmed someone with a sharpened a flagpole who said, “It’s for a certain person.” He filmed himself saying, “There’s no escape for Pelosi, Schumer, Nadler. We’re coming for you.”

“They got it surrounded,” he added as he marched to the Capitol. “It’s all the way up there on the hill, and it’s all the way around, and they’re coming in, coming in like white on rice for Pelosi, Nadler, even you AOC. We’re coming to take you out and pull you out by your hairs. … When I get done with you, you’re going to need a shine on top of that bald head.”

The committee released the video on Wednesday. Once again, the man who shot it while threatening lawmakers on his way to the Capitol was given a tour of the building the previous day by a Republican who opposed the certification of the Electoral College.

Loudermilk on Tuesday crowed on Twitter about the Capitol Police finding “no evidence” he led a recon tour through the Capitol. “The truth will always prevail,” he wrote. “As I’ve said since the Jan. 6 Committee made their baseless accusation about me to the media, I never gave a tour of the Capitol on Jan 5, 2021 and a small group visiting their congressman is in no way a suspicious activity. Now the Capitol Police have confirmed this fact.”

It doesn’t look like much is confirmed.

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