Conservative activist and rally organizer Ali Alexander appeared Thursday morning for a closed-door deposition before the House committee investigating the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol.
Mr. Alexander, who contends he “had nothing to do with any violence or lawbreaking that happened on January 6,” has cooperated with the committee’s probe, in part, because he said he is unable to afford the legal fees required to challenge the committee’s subpoena.
“Anyone who suggests I had anything to do with the unlawful activities on January 6 is wrong,” Mr. Alexander is expected to tell the committee Thursday, according to prepared remarks first obtained by The New York Times. “They’re either mistaken or lying.”
The committee alleges that Mr. Alexander was behind the “One Nation Under God” rally planned to be held on Capitol grounds on Jan. 6 following the conclusion of the “Stop the Steal” rally that preceded the riot.
Despite organizers receiving a permit for the “One Nation Under God” rally, the event did not take place.
“My permitted event at Lot 8 never took place,” Mr. Alexander said in his prepared remarks. “The ’One NationUnderGod’ event that Stop the Steal was a part of did not start the chaos. The chaos was well underway before our event was scheduled to begin.”
SEE ALSO: Mark Meadows sues Nancy Pelosi, Jan. 6 committee
The committee also alleges that Mr. Alexander attended several “Stop the Steal-sponsored events” in the lead-up to Jan. 6 and made “repeated references” to “the possible use of violence to achieve the organization’s goals.”
The committee said Mr. Alexander “claimed to have been in communication with the White House and Members of Congress regarding events planned” in the lead up to the Jan. 6 certification of the election.
Mr. Alexander said he has “hosted hundreds of rallies with millions of participants in all fifty states [but] not one single rally” he has backed turned violent.
“I demand non-violence at my events,” he said in his remarks. “I demand non-violence among my membership and leadership. I demand non-violence among my associates.”
The House panel demanded that Mr. Alexander provide documents and appear for a deposition in a subpoena issued in October.
Mr. Alexander announced in a Telegram post that he would not challenge the subpoena, in part, because he could not afford to mount a legal defense to oppose the committee’s demands, though he said in his prepared remarks for Thursday’s deposition that he has “hired attorneys and computer consultants to be as responsive as possible” to the committee’s subpoena.
He said since receiving the subpoena he has spent “more than 100 hours personally searching through my archives looking for relevant and responsive documentation to this committee’s request” and “another 100 hours preparing answers to your questions.”
The committee has continued to face challenges in gaining compliance from key witnesses.
Former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows on Wednesday sued House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and members of the committee for relief from two subpoenas that he says are “overly broad and unduly burdensome.”
Mr. Meadows, who served under former President Donald Trump, withdrew his cooperation with the investigation on Tuesday— just over a week after signaling that he would comply with the panel’s demands for documents and testimony — after the two parties failed to reach an agreement on terms.
Committee Chairman Bennie G. Thompson, Mississippi Democrat, and Vice Chair Liz Cheney, Wyoming Republican, balked at Mr. Meadows’ lawsuit in a statement late Wednesday and said the committee would meet next week to hold Mr. Meadows in contempt.
• Joseph Clark can be reached at jclark@washingtontimes.com.
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