NEW EVIDENCE

Jan. 6 Committee Probes Republican-Led Tour of Capitol Day Before Riot

In a letter to Rep. Barry Loudermilk, the panel said its evidence “directly contradicts” Republicans’ denials that rioters were taken on reconnaissance tours.

The bipartisan House committee investigating the Jan. 6 insurrection is seeking information from Republican Rep. Barry Loudermilk about the purpose of, and participants in, a Capitol tour he led the day before the riot. In a letter to Loudermilk, the committee wrote that “public reporting and witness accounts indicate some individuals and groups engaged in efforts to gather information about the layout of the U.S. Capitol.” Over a year ago, some House Democrats accused Republicans of leading tours just before Jan. 6 to some soon-to-be rioters. Republicans, including Loudermilk, emphatically denied those claims, but the letter notes that new evidence “directly contradicts” their denials that security footage from the days leading up to the insurrection showed “no tours, no large groups, no one with MAGA hats on.”