Police have determined there was nothing suspicious about a tour of two Capitol office buildings that a House Republican gave to about 15 people the day before Jan. 6, 2021.
Rep. Barry Loudermilk, a Republican from Georgia, was showing his constituents around, Capitol Police Chief Tom Manger said in a letter sent Monday.
Manger’s letter to Rep. Rodney Davis of Illinois, the top Republican on the House Administration Committee, came a few weeks after the House committee investigating the incursion had asked Loudermilk for more information about the tour on Jan. 5, 2021.
Police reviewed surveillance video showing Loudermilk leading a tour of about 15 people in the Rayburn and Cannon House office buildings, Manger said.
Republicans on the House Administration Committee — Loudermilk is a member — had previously said they reviewed security footage from Jan. 5 and said there were “no tours, no large groups, no one with MAGA hats on.”
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But Democratic Rep. Bennie Thompson of Mississippi and Republican Rep. Liz Cheney of Wyoming — the chairman and vice-chairwoman of the separate Jan. 6 committee — claimed that their review of the evidence “directly contradicts that denial.”
Loudermilk has said the Jan. 5 tour was with a constituent family and took place in the House office buildings and not inside the Capitol building.
He and Davis had called on Capitol Police in May to release surveillance video.
The Capitol complex includes 20 buildings and facilities, including House and Senate offices. Underground tunnels connect most of the buildings to the Capitol.
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“At no time did the group appear in any tunnels that would have led them to the U.S. Capitol,” Manger wrote in the letter.
Democratic Rep. Pete Aguilar of California, a Jan. 6 committee member, said on Tuesday that the panel would still like to hear Loudermilk’s testimony and would like to show the video referenced by the Davis letter to let the public decide.
Capitol Police say the tour was thoroughly examined and there was nothing suspicious about it.
“There is no evidence that Rep. Loudermilk entered the U.S. Capitol with this group on Jan. 5, 2021,” Manger said.
“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.”
The Western Journal has reviewed this Associated Press story and may have altered it prior to publication to ensure that it meets our editorial standards.
