House Democrats on Wednesday launched an immediate investigation into “suspicious behavior” and access allegedly given to the U.S. Capitol a day before the riot.
The 34 lawmakers in a letter requested the Capitol police and the acting sergeants of the House and Senate to investigate the matter. Rep. Mikie Sherrill, DN.J., along with others said they noticed an extraordinarily high number of outsiders in the complex on January 5th.
“This is unusual for several reasons, including the fact that access to the Capitol complex has been restricted since public tours ended in March last year due to the pandemic,” the letter reads, according to Politico. According to lawmakers, the tours were “so worrying” that they were reported to the Sergeant at Arms the same day, January 5th.
NJ REP. SHERRILL: UNGENTIFIED LAWYERS HAVE LEADING ‘PERMISSION’ AT TIME FOR CAPITOL ATTACK
Rep. Mikie Sherrill, DN.J., walks through the House’s steps for a vote in the Capitol on Thursday, September 17, 2020. (Photo by Bill Clark / CQ-Roll Call, Inc. via Getty Images)
“The visitors that some of the members of Congress encountered on this letter appear to be associated the next day with the protest in the White House,” the lawmakers wrote. “It seems that members of the group that attacked the Capitol have an extraordinarily detailed knowledge of the layout of the Capitol Complex. The presence of these groups within the Capitol Complex was indeed suspicious.”
Among the requests made in the letter is, among other things, whether there are logs of visitors that are regularly examined and collected. They also asked security officers to provide information on the names of ‘members or staff’ who were part of the alleged tours.
Sherrill, a former U.S. Navy helicopter pilot, said members of Congress led apparent “reconnaissance tours” through the Capitol the day before the riot.
Sherrill commented on a 13-minute video on Facebook in which she addressed her voters about the steps Congress will take to hold President Trump and “those responsible” responsible for inciting the riots. .
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According to the media company, the congresswoman did not name any of the lawmakers or give additional details about what qualified their actions as ‘exploration’.
Rep. Tim Ryan, D-Ohio, told reporters at the Capitol that he had heard of some names of colleagues who may have been touring, but said he was going to wait to make sure “we get verification.”
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Sherrill told Fox News on Wednesday, “We are currently requesting an investigation by certain agencies,” without elaborating.