Capitol Police debunk Jan. 6 panel allegation GOP lawmaker helped rioters surveil complex
In blow to Thompson-Cheney committee, police Chief Thomas Manger writes "no evidence" Rep. Loudermilk did anything wrong on Jan. 5: "We do not consider any of the activities we observed as suspicious."
In a major blow to one of the Democrat-led Jan. 6 investigative committee’s allegations, the Capitol police chief declared Monday there is no evidence that Republican Rep. Barry Loudermilk led a group of protesters on a reconnaissance mission the day before the riots.
Capitol Police Chief J. Thomas Manger, appointed since the Jan. 6 tragedy, wrote in a letter to Congress obtained by Just the News, that an exhaustive review of security footage found no evidence that the Georgia congressman did anything other than give constituents a tour of some congressional office buildings.
In fact, the chief said, the congressman didn’t even enter the U.S. Capitol with the group.
“There is no evidence that Representative Loudermilk entered the U.S. Capitol with this group on January 5, 2021,” Manger wrote in a letter to Rep. Rodney Davis, R-Ill., the ranking Republican on the House Administration Committee. “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.”
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220807 U. S. Capitol Police Response to RM Davis re Jan 5 2021 Tour.pdf
Davis, who led his own review of all security footage to clear Loudermilk and then pressed Capitol Police to make a conclusion, demanded Monday night that the Democrats who besmirched Loudermilk’s name apologize and face an ethics inquiry.
"The Democrats need to be ashamed of themselves," Davis told the Just the News, Not Noise television show.
Manger’s letter directly undercuts allegations made a month ago by Reps. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., and Liz Cheney, R-Wyoming, the chairman and vice chairwoman of the Democrat-led Jan. 6 committee. They sent a letter released to the media in May demanding Loudermilk volunteer testimony and explain why he was giving a tour of the Capitol the day before the riots, suggesting it could be part of an effort to help case the Capitol building before the Jan. 6 protests.
"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," Cheney and Thompson wrote. "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."
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2022-5-19.BGT LC Letter to Loudermilk.pdf
The two cited an earlier letter from Democratic Rep. Mikie Sherrill that alleged some GOP lawmakers gave tours on Jan. 5, 2021, that involved “suspicious behavior and access” and appeared to give defendants who stormed the Capitol the next day "an unusually detailed knowledge of the layout of the Capitol Complex."
"The presence of these groups within the Capitol Complex was indeed suspicious," Sherrill wrote.
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2020.01.13_Sherrill Letter to USCP and SAA.pdf
Manger’s letter unequivocally cleared Loudermilk, noting his constituent group of 12 to 15 people never even reached the Capitol and did not even enter the tunnels from the adjacent office buildings. Instead, they visited an exhibit in the Rayburn House Office building.
https://justthenews.com/government/congress/capitol-police-debunk-jan-6-panel-allegation-gop-lawmaker-helped-rioters