During the 9th public hearing of the January 6 committee, evidence was released that showed the Secret Service had prior information about the Proud Boys’ intention to march into Washington DC with weapons and had also warned about the possible attack on then Vice President, Mike Pence. 

The panel has acquired recordings in excess of a million that point toward Secret Service agents spotting weapons in the hands of many people who had gathered before former President Donald Trump’s scheduled speech at the Ellis.

Also Read| January 6 hearing Day 9: Liz Cheney says Donald Trump was ‘central cause’ of Capitol attack

The committee also said that the Secret Service was monitoring online activity regarding the possibility of riots and had come across several right-wing websites where people had threatened violence if Trump was not declared the winner of the 2020 elections.

Threats were also given to Pence, and one of the online comments said that he would be “‘a dead man walking if he doesn’t do the right thing.’” Alerts regarding such threats were also received by the Secret Service.

The committee is also investigating the reason behind some Secret Service messages going missing on January 5 and 6. As a reply to a subpoena by the committee, the Secret Service had sent them 800,000 pages of recordings. Chairman of the committee, Rep. Bennie Thompson, has termed these documents as “significant information.”

Also Read| January 6 hearings Day 9: Zoe Lofgren says Donald Trump planned with Tom Fitton to declare premature victory

At the end of the proceedings, where it was also revealed that Trump had information about some of the rioters being armed, the committee have decided to subpoena the former President himself. “The need for this committee to hear from Donald Trump goes beyond our fact-finding. This is a question about accountability to the American people. He must be accountable. He is required to answer for his actions”, said Thompson.

In June and July, the Jan 6 committee had held a number of well-publicized hearings regarding the Capitol riots. The October 13 hearing, the eighth to date, is likely to be the last one before the midterm elections on November 8.