House panel investigating Capitol attack subpoena proud boys and oath-keepers | Latest News Headlines

WASHINGTON – The House committee investigating the attack on the Capitol on Tuesday issued subpoenas to three militias or paramilitary groups, including the Proud Boys and the Oath Keepers, which investigators say have information about the deadly siege January 6.

The subpoenas were issued to Proud Boys International, LLC and its president Henry “Enrique” Tarrio; the Oath Keepers and its president Elmer Stewart Rhodes; and the 1st Praetorian Amendment and its chairman Robert Patrick Lewis.

“The select committee is seeking information from individuals and organizations allegedly involved in planning the attack, the violent mob that stormed the Capitol on January 6, or efforts to overthrow the results of the attack. the election, “said Representative Bennie Thompson, Democrat of Mississippi and chairman of the committee, said in a statement. “We believe that the individuals and organizations we have called to appear today have relevant information on how the violence erupted on Capitol Hill and the preparations leading up to this violent attack.”

The committee said members of Proud Boys International called for violence before January 6 and the Justice Department charged at least 34 people affiliated with the group.

People associated with the Oath Keepers were also involved in planning and participating in the Capitol Riot, the committee said, including 18 members who were indicted by a federal grand jury for allegedly planning a coordinated attack to take d storm the building. Mr Rhodes has repeatedly suggested that the Oath Keepers should engage in violence to secure their preferred election result. He was also said to have been in contact with several of the Oath Keepers indicted before, during and after the Capitol attack, including meeting some of them outside the Capitol.

1st Praetorian Amendment is an organization that provided security for several rallies through January 6 that amplified former President Donald J. Trump’s false claims about a stolen election. The group’s Twitter account suggested on Jan.4 that violence was imminent, the committee said.

“Today is the day the real battles begin,” Lewis wrote on Twitter Jan. 6. He also claimed to be involved in “war games” to continue efforts to overturn the election results, the committee said.

The panel issued more than 40 subpoenas and interviewed more than 200 witnesses as it investigates the violence that engulfed Congress and delayed the formalization of President Biden’s victory. The latest subpoenas require files and testimony by mid-December.