House panel subpoenas organizers of Jan. 6 Trump rally
WASHINGTON (AP) — A House committee investigating the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection has subpoenaed 11 officials who were involved in planning rallies in support of former President Donald Trump ahead of the violent attack, including one the day of the siege at which the president told his supporters to “fight like hell.”
The announcement follows a first round of subpoenas last week that targeted former White House and administration officials who were in contact with Trump before and during the insurrection.
The committee said in a release Wednesday that the subpoenas are part of the panel’s efforts to collect information from the organizers “and their associated entities on the planning, organization, and funding of those events.” Mississippi Rep. Bennie Thompson, the chairman of the committee, said “the inquiry includes examination of how various individuals and entities coordinated their activities leading up to the events of January 6.”
The letters from Thompson cite efforts by representatives of the group Women for America First to organize the rally on Jan. 6 and to collectively communicate with senior White House officials. The subpoenas also mention other events the group planned in the weeks between Trump’s November election defeat and the January attack.