The House committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol is demanding documents and testimony from six more rally organizers in a new round of subpoenas issued Friday.
Two of the individuals named are alleged to have discussed plans with former President Donald Trump and members of Congress in the days leading up to the riot.
Key among those named is Brian Jack, the former director of political affairs for Mr. Trump. The committee said Mr. Jack “reached out to several members of Congress on behalf of the former President to ask them to speak at the Ellipse on Jan. 6.”
Mr. Trump spoke at a rally at the Ellipse, which occurred before the pro-Trump mob stormed the Capitol. He was joined at the rally by Rep. Mo Brooks, Alabama Republican, who the committee said Mr. Jack reached out to before the event.
The committee points out in the subpoena that in the weeks following Jan. 6, news reports revealed that Mr. Brooks wore body armor at the rally because he was warned “that there might be risks associated with the next few days,” though the committee does not allege in the subpoena that Mr. Jack warned Mr. Brooks of the risk.
“The Select Committee is seeking information from individuals who were involved in or witnesses to the coordination and planning of the events leading up to the violent attack on our democracy on January 6th,” Committee Chairman Bennie G. Thompson, Mississippi Democrat, said in a statement. “Some of the witnesses we subpoenaed today apparently worked to stage the rallies on January 5th and 6th, and some appeared to have had direct communication with the former President regarding the rally at the Ellipse directly preceding the attack on the U.S. Capitol.”
By going after rally organizers, the committee is casting an increasingly wide net as it delves into the events of Jan. 6, when a pro-Trump mob stormed the Capitol to prevent Congress from certifying President Biden’s election win.
Conservatives accuse the Democrat-led select committee of engaging in a partisan effort to smear Mr. Trump and Republicans, blaming the GOP for the riot and attempting to score political points for Democrats ahead of the 2022 midterm elections.
The committee is also demanding documents and testimony from Robert Peede Jr. and Max Miller who allegedly met with Mr. Trump two days before Jan. 6 to discuss “who the President wanted to speak” at the Ellipse rally.
The committee also said that Mr. Miller, or someone acting on his behalf, attempted to have National Park Service (NPS) officials overturn a career NPS employee’s decision regarding the placement of the stage during the rally.
Others named Friday, including Bryan Lewis, Ed Martin and Kimberly Fletcher were behind various rallies planned throughout Washington on Jan. 6.
Mr. Lewis applied for a permit through the U.S. Capitol Police to hold a demonstration on the northeast side of the Capitol on Jan. 6 “to urge Congress to nullify electoral votes from states that made illegal changes to voting rules during their elections,” according to the subpoena.
Mr. Martin is allegedly the organizer behind the Stop the Steal movement responsible for several pro-Trump rallies that took place after the November election and sought donations through multiple websites linked to the movement to fund rallies planned for Jan. 6.
The committee said that Ms. Fletcher, through her organization Moms for America, organized the “March to Save America,” events held on Jan. 5 and Jan. 6.
The committee states in the subpoenas that it has evidence of multiple permit applicants coordinating separate events concurrently at various locations in and around the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6.
The subpoenas specifically name Ali Alexander, a rally organizer behind the “One Nation Under God” rally, as one of the individuals who coordinated with other groups to hold rallies concurrently at adjacent locations.
Despite organizers receiving a permit for the “One Nation Under God” rally, the event did not take place.
Mr. Alexander appeared for an eight-hour deposition before the committee Thursday.
“The Select Committee expects these witnesses to join the hundreds of individuals who have already cooperated with our investigation as we work to provide the American people with answers about what happened on January 6th and ensure nothing like that day ever happens again,” Mr. Thompson said Friday.
