House Dems Already Raised Alarm About Suspicious Tours of the Capitol A Day Before The Storming

'House Dems already raised alarm about suspicious tours on day before Capitol storming.' Daily Kos, Jan. 13, 2021. Ed.

As many of you have already seen, Congresswoman Mikie Sherrill detonated a bombshell on Tuesday night—less than 24 hours before the storming of the Capitol, a number of her Republican colleagues appeared to be giving tours of the Capitol to a number of the people who took part in the storming. In other words, Sherrill was accusing Republican lawmakers of helping these thugs case the joint.

Well, it turns out that Sherrill & others had already sounded the alarm about this before the storming. Sherrill & 33 other Dems wrote a letter to the acting sergeants at arms of both chambers, as well as the acting Capitol Police chief, asking for an investigation into tours that took place on Jan. 5. "Many Members who signed this letter ... witnessed an extremely high number of outside groups in the complex on Tues, Jan. 5,” wrote the lawmakers, led by Rep. Mikie Sherrill (D-N.J.), in a letter to the acting House & Senate sergeants-at-arms, as well as the acting head of the Capitol Police.

The lawmakers, some of who "have served in the military and are trained to recognize suspicious activity," noted that Capitol tours have been prohibited since March as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic and they said the tours were so unusual that they were reported to security on Jan. 5, ahead of the following day's violence.

Among the signers who are “trained to recognize suspicious activity” include Sherrill, fellow naval veteran Elaine Luria, and former CIA officer Abigail Spanberger. They were concerned enough about the tours that they alerted the House Sergeant At Arms. Their concerns proved valid. According to the letter, a number of these thugs had “unusually detailed knowledge” about the Capitol layout—knowledge that could have only been acquired from having previously gotten access to certain parts of the Capitol “from a Member of Congress or their staff.”

It looks like that investigation is already underway, per Congressman Tim Ryan...

More + Comments, https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2021/1/13/2008958/-House-Dems-already-raised-alarm-about-suspicious-tours-on-day-before-Capitol-storming
___________________

- 'Democratic members of Congress seek investigation of tours conducted prior to Jan. 6 insurgency,' Daily Kos, Jan. 13

..The letter also notes that the tours on January 5 were so unusual that they were reported to the sergeant of arms at that time, and that those groups “could only have gained access to the Capitol Complex from a Member of Congress or a member of their staff.”

The letter asks a series of questions about the logbooks of the Capitol, including whether or not they are recorded into a database, and whether the security staff enforces rules requiring members to sign in parties of guests. Notably, the letter also inquires about video logs. There are clearly security cameras in parts of the building...

https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2021/1/13/2008933/-Democratic-members-of-Congress-seek-investigation-of-tours-conducted-prior-to-January-6-insurgency