This past Monday, the head of the United States Capitol Police officially put down the claims made by the Democrat-run January 6 Committee that one GOP congressman led the protesters through a reconnaissance mission the day before the riots took place.
The panel had issued the claim that Representative Barry Loudermilk (R-GA) has walked a group of protesters through the Capitol the day before a group of supporters of then-president Donald Trump carried out their riot and stormed the building. However, J. Thomas Manger, the Capitol Police Chief, stated in a letter to a GOP legislator that was acquired by Just the News that there was absolutely zero evidence in support of that claim.
“There is no evidence that Representative Loudermilk entered the U.S. Capitol with this group on January 5, 2021,” Manger stated in the letter addressed to the ranking Republican figure currently sitting on the House Administration Committee, Representative Rodney Davis (R-IL). “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.”
The January 6 committee suggested GOP Rep Loudermilk had led rioters on a 'reconnaissance' tour before the Capitol riot. Now, Capitol police debunk theory. https://t.co/j8Zky2wcr1 and https://t.co/Fvw54XLki8
— Byron York (@ByronYork) June 14, 2022
Just this past month, Representative Liz Cheney (R-WY) and Representative Bennie Thompson (D-MS), who are currently the leaders of the United States House Select Committee on the January 6 Attack, asked for Loudermilk to step forward and testify as to why he gave the tour to constituents, making the assertation that he was leading the alleged scouting mission.
“Based on our review of evidence in the Select Committee’s possession, we believe you have information regarding a tour you led through parts of the Capitol complex on January 5, 2021,” Thompson and Cheney stated. “The foregoing information raises questions to which the Select Committee must seek answers. 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 January 6, 2021.”
One former federal prosecutor, Representative Mikie Sherrill (D-NJ), has issued a claim previously that GOP lawmakers gave tours just a single day before the events sparked off and apparently engaged in “suspicious behavior,” giving future rioters “an unusually detailed knowledge of the layout of the Capitol Complex.”
However, the group of between 12-15 constituents from Loudermilk never actually went into the Capitol and only went by an exhibit within the Rayburn House Office building, stated Manger.
“At no time did the group appear in any tunnels that would have led them to the U.S. Capitol,” stated Manger. “In addition, the tunnels leading to the U.S. Capitol were posted with USCP officers and admittance to the U.S. Capitol without a Member of Congress was not permitted on January 5, 2021.”
Davis issued a demand that Johnson, Sherrill, and Cheney tender an apology and called for an in-depth ethics inquiry.
“The Democrats need to be ashamed of themselves,” Davis stated to the “Just the News, Not Noise” show on television.