House Select Committee sends subpoenas to organisers of ‘Stop the Steal’ rally

The House Select Committee, which is probing the January 6 riots in Washington DC, on Thursday sent out follow-up subpoenas to those who organised the ‘Stop the Steal’ rally earlier this year, which then erupted into violence.

Before Thursday’s third round of subpoenas, the committee, which is formed out of members of the United States House of Representatives, had already issued nearly a dozen of subpoenas.

Ali Alexander, who was defined as a right-wing provocateur by the Washington Post in a report, was also sent the subpoena, which sought to gather information about the planning of pro-Trump rallies.

Alexander released a video weeks before the storming of the United States Capitol complex on January 6 where he stated his plans to put “maximum pressure” on Congress, which was attempting to certify the votes of the 2020 Presidential elections.

He also added that he had support from three United States lawmakers, who were members of the Republican party. These included Representatives Mo Brooks (Alabama), Andy Biggs (Arizona) and Paul Gosar (Arizona). 

However, Brooks and Biggs have dismissed Alexander’s claims of them helping in organising the rally in Washington DC while Gosar has not commented on the situation, according to reports from Washington Post.

Representative Bennie G. Thompson, the chairman for the House Select Committee, said, “The rally on the Capitol grounds on January 6th, like the rally near the White House that day, immediately preceded the violent attack on the seat of our democracy”, according to reports from Washington Post.

Thompson, who is a member of the Democratic party and a lawmaker from Mississippi, added, “Over the course of that day, demonstrations escalated to violence and protestors became rioters. The Select Committee needs to understand all the details about the events that came before the attack, including who was involved in planning and funding them. We expect these witnesses to cooperate fully with our probe.”