The idea of an uprising is unheard of in modern American history, and the possibility of lawmakers or allies helping in the Capitol only adds to the uncertainty and concern about the event and what is to come.
At least one protest organizer said he was coordinating with three House Republics. There are unknown allegations of a “reconnaissance” mission one day before the attack. And more than a dozen U.S. police officers in the Capitol are currently under investigation for allegedly helping rioters.
President Donald Trump’s role in inciting violence is clear, but there are early indications and accusations that other insiders would help the mob more actively.
Ali Alexander, a right-wing conspiracy theorist who led one of the “Stop The Steal” groups, claims in a live video that he planned the protest that preceded the riot with three GOP lawmakers: Reps Paul Gosar and Andy Biggs of Arizona, and Rep. Mo Brooks of Alabama.
Brooks spoke during the rally before Trump entered the stage and urged the crowd to ‘start taking names and kicking a hole’. In a 2,800-word statement about his involvement, Brooks said he only told the crowd to fight back at the ballot box. (Brooks also revealed that a White House official had called him earlier one day and invited him to speak at the rally.)
CNN reported earlier that Gosar has linked him to Alexander’s group in recent months. A Biggs spokesman told CNN he had never met Alexander or worked there.
Alexander said he hopes his “mob” will push lawmakers to block the election of President Joe Biden by Electoral College. After the riot was called off, the three lawmakers voted to cast Biden’s election votes from Arizona and Pennsylvania. Their attempt failed.
“The three members of Congress will have to be prosecuted very quickly,” former CNN representative Charlie Dent told CNN’s Erin Burnett on Wednesday, adding he believes lawmakers will be prosecuted by federal prosecutors and the government. investigation is instituted. House Ethics Committee.
Alleged ‘reconnaissance’ mission
Rep. Mikie Sherrill, a Democratic New Jersey, made headlines Tuesday night when she
accused nameless Republican lawmakers to help rioters by bringing them into the Capitol one day earlier for a “reconnaissance” mission. CNN has not yet confirmed the allegations.
Sherrill said there were “members of Congress who had groups through the Capitol that I saw on Jan. 5 for reconnaissance for the next day.” CNN has repeatedly asked Sherrill’s office for details of her accusation, but they did not provide any additional information.
She is a former Navy helicopter pilot and federal prosecutor, and is seen as a moderate member of the Democratic caucus, and not as a fire-eater who will make accusations without merit. She said on Wednesday that she was “investigating” with “certain agencies”, presumably to look at possible coordination between Republican lawmakers and rioters.
Separately, Republican Rep. Lauren Boebert of Colorado was criticized for tweeting about where the House’s speaker Nancy Pelosi was while the attack unfolded. Boebert, who is linked to the QAnon movement and regularly disseminates right-wing conspiracy theories, tweeted that Pelosi was “removed from the (chamber) rooms” while rioters were still inside the building.
Prosecutors investigate conspiracy charges
More than 70 people have been charged with federal crimes related to the attack. Most of the disclosure cases involve people who fought with police officers in the Capitol, made violent threats against Democrats or were found with guns or bombs near the complex.
Prosecutors have not yet accused any of Trump supporters of coordinating with Republican lawmakers or sympathetic police officers, but the massive investigation is still in its early stages.
“We are looking at serious criminal cases related to rioting and conspiracy,” Michael Sherwin, the acting U.S. attorney for Washington, told reporters Tuesday without specifically saying whether lawmakers or law enforcement officials are being investigated.
But Sherwin added: “Our office has organized a strike force of many senior national security and public corruption prosecutors. Their only mandate from me is to build riots and conspiracy charges related to the most heinous acts that have taken place in the Capitol. has.”
Domestic assistance from police and army
At least two U.S. police officers in the Capitol have already been suspended, and at least ten more are being investigated for allegedly playing a role in the uprising, CNN reports.
After the attack, there were immediate speculations that some sympathetic police officers may have helped the rioters, given the fact that the shameless and sometimes violent crowd apparently munched on the Capitol complex with little resistance. One riot even posed with a cop for a selfie.
Current and former U.S. military members also took part in the uprising, according to news reports and court records. One of the men who infiltrated the Senate floor during the attack is a retired Air Force lieutenant colonel, and the Army is reportedly investigating one psychological operations officer who killed a group of North Caroliners before the Trump attack. led the protest.
Ashli Babbitt, the 35-year-old woman who was fatally shot by police as she tried to break into the room, was a veteran of the air force who was later engulfed in conspiracy theories.
CNN’s Daniella Diaz and Annie Grayer contributed to this story.
