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“Based on our review of evidence in the Select Committee’s possession, we believe you have information regarding a tour you led through parts of the Capitol complex on January 5, 2021,” Chairman Bennie Thompson, a Democrat from Mississippi, and Vice Chairwoman Liz Cheney, a Republican from Wyoming, wrote in the letter.
“The foregoing information raises questions to which the Select Committee must seek answers. Public reporting and witness accounts indicate some individuals and groups engaged in efforts to gather information about the layout of the U.S. Capitol, as well as the House and Senate office buildings, in advance of January 6, 2021,” they added.
Specifically, the letter notes that the committee’s review of evidence “directly contradicts” previous claims by Republicans that security footage from the days before January 6 shows “[t]here were no tours, no large groups, no one with MAGA hats on.”
A spokesperson for Loudermilk has not immediately returned a request for comment from CNN.
The letter comes more than a year after some House Democrats accused Republicans of providing tours in the days leading up to January 6 to individuals who later stormed the Capitol.
Sherrill told a virtual town hall on January 12, 2021, that “members of Congress who had groups coming through the Capitol that I saw on January 5th for reconnaissance for the next day.” The congresswoman never provided specific details or named which member of Congress gave the tours — even after widespread criticism from Republicans, demanding she provide evidence to back up her claim.
Several Republican members denied providing any such tours, and it was Loudermilk who filed an ethics complaint last year against Sherrill and 33 other Democrats, accusing them of making allegations about Republican-led reconnaissance tours without any evidence.
“A Member of Congress accusing another Member of committing a crime, without evidence, is morally reprehensible and a stain on this institution,” Loudermilk wrote in the complaint. “No Republican Member of Congress led any kind of ‘reconnaissance’ tours through the Capitol, proven by security footage captured by the U.S. Capitol Police.”
“My Republican colleagues and I will not sit by while Democrats accuse their colleagues of treason for political gain. This type of conduct must not be tolerated,” he wrote, urging the House Ethics Committee to “take quick and decisive action to ensure this never happens again.”
A spokesperson for the House Ethics Committee declined to comment on the status of the Loudermilk ethics complaint.
While Democrats making the accusations have yet to provide additional evidence to back up the claims, they have also refused to back away from the accusation.
According the letter, the committee has obtained evidence that contradicts previous GOP denials that any tours took place in the days before January 6, 2021 — raising questions about the one given by Loudermilk and its purpose.
Loudermilk has not been among the most notable GOP lawmakers who have emerged as potential witnesses in the committee’s ongoing probe.
“It’s really bad up here on the hill. They have breached the Capitol,” Loudermilk wrote to Meadows at the time.
“POTUS is engaging,” Meadows sent in response to Loudermilk.
“Thanks. This doesn’t help our cause,” Loudermilk replied.
This story has been updated with additional developments Thursday.
