Which Members of Congress Were Giving Capitol Tours to Right Wing Attackers? Ask the Ones Who Weren’t

Several days after the startling attack on the U.S. Capitol, Rep. Mikie Sherrill (D-NJ), a former Navy helicopter pilot and federal prosecutor, alleged that members of Congress “had groups coming through the Capitol that I saw on Jan. 5 for reconnaissance for the next day.”

Within days, more than 30 other members of Congress joined Sherrill in calling on the Capitol Police and the Senate and House sergeants-at-arms to investigate. They wrote:

Many of the Members who signed this letter, including those of us who have served in the military and are trained to recognize suspicious activity, as well as various members of our staff, witnessed an extremely high number of outside groups in the complex on Tuesday, January 5. This is unusual for several reasons, including the fact that access to the Capitol Complex has been restricted since public tours ended in March of last year due to the pandemic.

This is a startling allegation and it coincides with reports that some of the members of the right wing mob that attacked the Capitol were tightly coordinated and had inside knowledge about where members of Congress and their offices were located.

But members have resisted accusing specific colleagues of having conducted these tours.

So how can we find out who was conducting them?