The leaders of the House committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol asked a Republican congressman on Thursday to submit to questioning about a tour of the complex he gave one day before the riot, saying they were looking into whether rioters had conducted reconnaissance of the building before the rampage.
In a Thursday letter to Representative Barry Loudermilk, the top two members of the panel said investigators had obtained evidence that the Georgia Republican had led a tour through parts of the Capitol complex on Jan. 5, 2021, when it was closed to visitors because of pandemic restrictions. Mr. Loudermilk has denied having led any “reconnaissance” tour.
“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 Jan. 6, 2021,” said a letter to Mr. Loudermilk from Representative Bennie Thompson, Democrat of Mississippi and the chairman of the panel, and Representative Liz Cheney, Republican of Wyoming and the vice chairwoman.
They did not directly allege that any person escorted by Mr. Loudermilk later attacked the Capitol. But they suggested that they had obtained evidence that he had led visitors around the complex, writing that their review of evidence “directly contradicts” Republicans’ denials that closed-circuit security camera footage showed no such tours had taken place.