Politics

Jan. 6 Committee Issues Second Round Of Subpoenas, Targets Pro-Trump Protest Organizers

(Photo by Jon Cherry/Getty Images)

Anders Hagstrom White House Correspondent
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The House Select Committee investigating the storming of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 issued a second round of subpoenas Wednesday, this time targeting key organizers behind the rally that preceded the Capitol Riot.

The committee filed 11 subpoenas targeting leaders of Women for America First (WFAF), the organization which obtained the permit for the pre-riot rally, CNN reported Wednesday. WFAF founder Amy Kremer is among the 11 individuals named in the subpoena. Kremer played an influential role in organizing protests and rallies across the country pushing former President Donald Trump’s claims that the 2020 election was stolen.

The committee appears to be most interested in whether rally organizers worked directly with the White House prior to Jan. 6. (RELATED: Liz Cheney Says She Agrees With Speaker Pelosi On Rejecting Two Republicans For The Jan. 6 Select Committee)

“The investigation has revealed credible evidence of your involvement in events within the scope of the Select Committee’s inquiry,” the committee wrote of Kremer. “According to documents provided to the Select Committee, press reports, and statements by you and your organization, Women for America First, you participated in the organization and sponsorship of the rally held on the Ellipse in Washington, D.C. on January 6, 2021, in support of then-president Trump and his allegations of election fraud.”

Chairman Rep. Bennie Thompson and Rep. Liz Cheney joined by fellow committee members, speak to the media following a hearing of the House Select Committee investigating the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

Chairman Rep. Bennie Thompson and Rep. Liz Cheney joined by fellow committee members, speak to the media following a hearing of the House Select Committee investigating the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

The committee issued its first round of subpoenas Sept. 23, which targeted four senior level officials from the Trump administration.

The first round of subpoenas named former White House Chief of staff Mark Meadows, former adviser Steve Bannon, former Deputy Chief of Staff Dan Scavino and Kashyap Patel, the chief of staff for then-acting Defense Secretary Christopher Miller. Select Committee Chairman Bennie Thompson argued each of the four men were in communication with the White House “on or in the days leading up to the January 6th insurrection.”

The committee alleged that three of the men potentially contributed to the events of Jan. 6 by publicizing and supporting Trump’s claims that the 2020 presidential election was stolen. The fourth, Patel, was reportedly involved in the Pentagon’s reaction to the riot.

The committee is tasked with investigating the facts and causes of the Jan. 6 Capitol riot as well as “issues relating to the peaceful transfer of power.” Democratic California Rep. Adam Schiff stated earlier in September that those who refuse to cooperate with the Jan. 6 committee may face charges of criminal contempt.