House Panel Investigating Capitol Attack Subpoenas Proud Boys and Oath Keepers

WASHINGTON — The House committee investigating the Capitol onslaught issued subpoenas connected Tuesday to 3 militia oregon paramilitary groups, including the Proud Boys and the Oath Keepers, that investigators judge person accusation astir the deadly siege connected Jan. 6.

The subpoenas were issued to the Proud Boys International, L.L.C., and its chairman, Henry “Enrique” Tarrio; the Oath Keepers and its president, Elmer Stewart Rhodes; and the 1st Amendment Praetorian and its chairman, Robert Patrick Lewis. They came a time aft the panel subpoenaed the governmental operative Roger J. Stone Jr., the conspiracy theorist Alex Jones and 3 others.

“The prime committee is seeking accusation from individuals and organizations reportedly progressive with readying the attack, with the convulsive mob that stormed the Capitol connected Jan. 6 oregon with efforts to overturn the results of the election,” Representative Bennie Thompson, Democrat of Mississippi and the president of the committee, said successful a statement. “We judge the individuals and organizations we subpoenaed contiguous person applicable accusation astir however unit erupted astatine the Capitol and the mentation starring up to this convulsive attack.”

The sheet said members of Proud Boys International called for unit earlier Jan. 6, and the Justice Department indicted astatine slightest 34 radical affiliated with the group.

People associated with the Oath Keepers were likewise progressive successful readying and participating successful the Capitol riot, the committee said, including 18 members who were indicted by a national expansive assemblage for allegedly readying a coordinated onslaught to tempest the building. Mr. Rhodes repeatedly suggested that the Oath Keepers should prosecute successful unit to guarantee their preferred predetermination outcome. He was besides allegedly successful interaction with respective of the indicted Oath Keepers members before, during and aft the onslaught connected Jan. 6, including gathering immoderate of them extracurricular the Capitol.

Mr. Rhodes has a agelong past of utilizing convulsive language, including calling for the hanging of John McCain, the erstwhile Republican legislator from Arizona.

On Oct. 27, Mr. Rhodes appeared connected the amusement of the conspiracy theorist Alex Jones, whom the committee subpoenaed connected Monday, and claimed that Democrats were stealing the predetermination and that the Oath Keepers would support President Donald J. Trump’s supporters astatine the polls. On Nov. 10, Mr. Rhodes said helium had “good men connected the ground” successful Washington prepared to “go in” if Mr. Trump needed them. On Dec. 12, helium called connected Mr. Trump to invoke the Insurrection Act and warned that the Oath Keepers would equine a “much much bloody war” if helium did not, the committee said.

The 1st Amendment Praetorian, a shadowy enactment that appears to beryllium mostly made up of erstwhile quality officers and peculiar forces operators, served arsenic bodyguards to Michael T. Flynn, Mr. Trump’s erstwhile nationalist information adviser, astatine rallies successful Washington betwixt the predetermination and Jan. 6. In publically posted videos, Mr. Lewis, the person of the group, has besides acknowledged being progressive successful the effort to assistance the lawyer Sidney Powell record lawsuits challenging the integrity of the statesmanlike ballot count.

The radical provided information astatine aggregate rallies starring up to Jan. 6 that amplified erstwhile Mr. Trump’s mendacious claims of a stolen election. The group’s Twitter relationship suggested connected Jan. 4 that unit was imminent, the committee said.

“There whitethorn beryllium immoderate young National Guard Captains facing immoderate very, precise pugnacious choices successful the adjacent 48 hours,” the radical wrote.

1st Amendment Praetorian provided information for astatine slightest two men who person besides been issued subpoenas by the House committee: Mr. Flynn, and Ali Alexander, a promoter of the “Stop the Steal” run to undermine the election.

“Today is the time that existent battles begin,” Mr. Lewis wrote connected Twitter connected Jan. 6.

Mr. Lewis, a erstwhile Green Beret, was connected a list of speakers for a objection held successful Washington connected Jan. 5 hosted by Cindy Chafian, the laminitis of a radical called The 80 Percent Coalition. She besides received a subpoena from the House committee successful September.

Mr. Lewis, who said helium was successful interaction with Mr. Rhodes, besides claimed to beryllium progressive with “war-gaming” to proceed efforts to overturn the predetermination results adjacent aft the mob violence, the committee said.

Mr. Rhodes said by substance connection connected Tuesday day that helium was traveling and would soon contented a written statement. A lawyer who has antecedently represented Mr. Tarrio could not beryllium reached for comment. Mr. Lewis did not respond to a petition for comment.

The sheet has issued 45 subpoenas and interviewed much than 200 witnesses arsenic it investigates the unit that engulfed Congress and delayed the formalization of President Biden’s victory. The latest subpoenas request records and grounds by mid-December.

Understand the Claim of Executive Privilege successful the Jan. 6. Inquiry

They bespeak the wide scope of the committee’s inquiry, which is investigating not lone the relation of the White House and Mr. Trump’s allies successful the Capitol attack, but the militia groups and rioters associated with them.

At the aforesaid time, the sheet is struggling to compel immoderate of those allies to comply with its investigation. Federal prosecutors person indicted Stephen K. Bannon, a erstwhile apical adjutant to Mr. Trump, connected contempt charges for refusing to cooperate. Members of the committee person besides said that they are considering recommending contempt charges for 2 different imaginable witnesses: Mark Meadows, Mr. Trump’s erstwhile main of staff, and Jeffrey Clark, a erstwhile Justice Department lawyer progressive successful Mr. Trump’s plans to overturn the election.

The erstwhile president is besides warring successful national tribunal against the committee’s petition for hundreds of White House documents astir his actions earlier and during the Capitol riot.

While nary 1 from the 1st Amendment Praetorian is presently facing transgression charges successful transportation with the attack, prosecutors focused connected the Proud Boys and the Oath Keepers soon aft Jan. 6.

Several members of the Proud Boys — far-right nationalists who benignant themselves arsenic “Western chauvinists” — person been charged with taking portion successful the assault. Among them are presidents of the group’s chapters successful Seattle, Philadelphia, Hawaii and North Carolina.

Mr. Tarrio has not been charged successful the Capitol attack; helium was ordered to permission Washington aft being arrested connected Jan. 4 successful a abstracted lawsuit for burning a Black Lives Matter banner astatine a Black religion aft a pro-Trump rally successful December. He is presently serving 155 days successful jailhouse successful transportation with those charges.

Though helium was not successful Washington connected Jan. 6, Mr. Tarrio was successful nonstop interaction with immoderate of his lieutenants connected the crushed that time and connected the evening earlier the riot, according to private chats obtained by national investigators. Prosecutors besides accidental that Mr. Tarrio ordered his men to debar their accustomed black-and-yellow polo shirts connected Jan. 6 and alternatively spell “incognito.”

The Oath Keepers, a decade-old antigovernment militia group, has besides been a main absorption of the Justice Department’s inquiry. Dozens of members person been charged, including respective successful what amounts to the largest conspiracy lawsuit that prosecutors person brought to date. In May, the person of the group, Mr. Rhodes, gave an interview to the F.B.I. against the proposal of his lawyer and told agents that nary of his members had intended to disrupt Congress’s certification of the Electoral College ballot connected Jan. 6 — the main accusation against his followers.