Leaders of pro-Trump groups Oath Keepers, Proud Boys subpoenaed in Jan. 6 Capitol riot probe



Tarrio was arrested for acts committed at the protest and the storming of the U.S. Capitol building, while Biggs was arrested for his involvement in the protest. The picture was taken in D.C.

The Proud Boys and the Oath Keepers were subpoenaed by the House select committee investigating the Capitol attack.

The committee subpoenaed Proud Boys leader Henry "Enrique" Tarrio and Oath Keepers President Elmer Stewart Rhodes, along with 1st Amendment Praetorian, another organization involved with the lead-up to Jan. 6.

The House committee requested documents and testimony from witnesses believed to have a connection to the events of January 6.

The facts and factors that caused the riot are being investigated by a bipartisan panel. The invasion followed months of false claims from Trump that the election was rigged against him.

Bennie Thompson, the chairman of the select committee, said in a press release that the individuals and organizations they subpoenaed have relevant information about how violence erupted at the Capitol and the preparation leading up to the attack.

Stewart Rhodes, founder of Oath Keepers, told The Washington Post that the government is trying to inflate the actions of a few members into an alleged conspiracy.

The number of Oath Keepers and the Proud Boys were mentioned in court papers as being discussed by one of the Capitol riot defendants.

A subpoena states that an indictment in Washington federal court described a conspiracy among at least 18 Oath Keepers in which members of the Oath Keepers planned to move together in coordination with regular communication to storm the United States Capitol.

The plot included plans to travel to Washington with military gear and additional supplies, according to the subpoena.

According to press reports, Rhodes was mentioned in the indictment, but not by name, as having been in direct contact with several of the indicted Oath Keepers, before, during and shortly after the attack on the Capitol.

The subpoena says that Mr. Rhodes made comments before January 6, 2021, that the Oath Keepers should engage in violence to ensure their preferred election outcome.

On Monday, the select committee subpoenaed Roger Stone, the Republican political operative and Trump confidant, who was reportedly used by Oath Keepers as personal security guards in Washington. The House committee said that Stone had said he was going to lead a march to the Capitol from the White House rally.

At least 34 people associated with the Proud Boys have been indicted by the Justice Department in connection with the riot, according to a subpoena announced Tuesday.

Tarrio was barred from entering Washington by a judge after he was arrested for burning a "Black Lives Matter" banner.

A growing list of Trump's current and former associates have been subpoenaed by the House investigation.

The panel referred Steve Bannon, Trump's former senior White House advisor, for contempt of Congress because he refused to comply with a subpoena.

The information requested by the panel was the basis for the noncompliance of the attorney. A federal grand jury indicted him on two counts of contempt of Congress after the full House voted to hold him in contempt.

The man has pleaded not guilty. The committee is trying to get reams of records from when Trump was president.

The committee has subpoenaed many people, including Trump's former chief of staff MarkMeadows and his former press secretary. The panel has threatened to bring criminal contempt proceedings against him.

Jones was held liable in a civil lawsuit for defamation by family members of victims of the Sandy Hook school massacre. Jones claimed the event was a hoax.

Trump pardoned Stone in December after he was convicted of lying to Congress.