Organizers behind pro-Trump rallies in Washington on Jan. 6 who are now cooperating with the House probe into the Capitol riot have named several members of Congress as having been “intimately involved” in planning the rallies.
Two unnamed sources involved in planning and organizing the rallies told Rolling Stone that House Republican Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, Paul Gosar of Arizona, Lauren Boebert of Colorado, Mo Brooks of Alabama, Madison Cawthorn of North Carolina, Andy Biggs of Arizona and Louie Gohmert of Texas participated personally or through staff in “dozens” of conversations with rally organizers leading up to the events.
The sources say they are talking to the Select Committee regarding the claims.
“I remember Marjorie Taylor Greene specifically,” one of the organizers told Rolling Stone. “I remember talking to probably close to a dozen other members at one point or another or their staffs.”
The source described speaking with several lawmakers or their staffs in “back-to-back” conversations. Both sources also described conversations in which Mr. Gosar allegedly offered immunity from “an ongoing investigation to encourage them to plan the protests.”
There is no indication from the reporting that any lawmaker advocated for rally-goers to storm the Capitol, or had any knowledge that those events would occur.
A spokesperson for Ms. Greene told Rolling Stone that she was “solely involved” in objecting to the electoral certification on the House floor and was not involved in planning the rallies.
Mr. Gohmert said in a statement that no one from his office “participated in the planning of the rally or in any criminal activity on Jan. 6.”
“However, I am extremely interested to find out who, besides the FBI operatives, did plan the events on Jan. 6,” he said. “For the purpose of a potential defamation lawsuit against those making baseless accusations of a crime, I need to know who these persons are who are alleging that I helped.”
Mrs. Boebert said she accepted an invitation to speak at a rally that took place before Jan. 6, but said she “had no role in the planning of any event that took place at the Capitol or anywhere in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 6”
“Once again, the media is acting as a messaging tool for the radical left,” she said.
Messrs. Biggs and Cawthorn also denied any involvement in statements to The Washington Times.
“Congressman Biggs has addressed the events of Jan. 6th several times and has made his lack of involvement abundantly clear,” said Mr. Biggs’ communications director, Hilton Beckham. “Rolling Stone’s reputation is already tattered and the baseless claims it’s making about Congressman Biggs from ’anonymous sources’ only calls its credibility further into question.”
“These anonymous accusations are complete garbage,” said Mr. Cawthorn’s communication director Luke Ball. “Neither the congressman nor his staff had advance knowledge of what transpired at the Capitol on January 6th or participated in any alleged ’planning process.’”
The other lawmakers did not immediately respond to The Times’ request for comment.
The sources also told Rolling Stone that they were in contact with former Trump advisors, including former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, whom they claim “had an opportunity to prevent the violence” that occurred on Jan. 6.
The committee issued a subpoena in late September compelling Mr. Meadows’ testimony after revealing “credible evidence” of his “involvement in events within the scope of the Select Committee’s inquiry.”
The lawmakers allege that Mr. Meadows was “engaged in multiple elements of the planning and preparation of efforts to contest the presidential election and delay the counting of electoral votes.”
The committee has also issued subpoenas seeking testimony from several individuals described as “organizers of rallies and events” leading up to and on Jan. 6. Several of those subpoenaed were behind the Women for America First rally on the Ellipse that took place on Jan. 6.
The committee has also issued subpoenas for individuals behind the “Stop the Steal” rally, which took place at the Capitol on Jan. 6.
It is not clear if the anonymous sources named in the Rolling Stone article were asked to testify by the committee, or to what extent they are participating in the probe.
A spokesperson for the Jan. 6 Select Committee declined to comment on the report.
• Joseph Clark can be reached at jclark@washingtontimes.com.
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