Proud Boys, Oath Keepers land in crosshairs of Jan 6 committee crosshairs

A new wave of subpoenas was sent out by the January 6 Committee on Tuesday, this time putting right-wing groups like Proud Boys and Oath Keepers in the crosshairs. A total of five subpoenas were sent out by the committee, which consists of lawmakers from the United States House of Representatives.

Enrique Tarrio, the leader of the Proud Boys group and Stewart Rhodes, the head of Oath Keepers were served with the January 6 committee notices. 

According to reports from CNN, dozens of members from both the right-wing groups have been charged by United States law enforcement authorities in connection to the January 6 storming of the Capitol complex. Moreover, some individuals from the groups had also allegedly conspired to disrupt the voting certification in the legislative chambers.

Bennie Thompson, a member of the Democratic party and the chair of the January 6 committee, said in a statement, “We believe the individuals and organizations we subpoenaed today have relevant information about how violence erupted at the Capitol and the preparation leading up to this violent attack”, according to reports from CNN.

Robert Patrick Lewis was also among those who were served with subpoenas on Tuesday. He heads the 1st Amendment Praetorian, which reportedly provided security at multiple rallies before the one organised on January 6.

The news comes less than a day after the January 6 committee sent out another round of subpoenas to allies and supporters of former United States President Donald Trump. Roger Stone and conspiracy theorist Alex Jones were on the list.

The subpoenas issued Monday include demands for documents and testimony from Stone and Jones as well as three people accused of organizing and promoting the two rallies that took place on January 6.