House January 6 committee subpoenas Alex Jones and Roger Stone
The House select committee investigating the January 6 attack on the Capitol has issued subpoenas to onetime Trump ally Roger Stone and conspiracy theorist Alex Jones as a part of their investigation.
The committee is demanding records and testimony from Jones and Stone, along with three other witnesses the committee believes had knowledge of the planning and financing of of the rallies and assault on the Capitol. The latest subpoenas come after former Trump political strategist Steve Bannon was indicted by a federal grand jury for defying the committee's summons. Bannon has pleaded not guilty.
"The select committee is seeking information about the rallies and subsequent march to the Capitol that escalated into a violent mob attacking the Capitol and threatening our democracy," the committee's chairman, Congressman Bennie Thompson, said in a statement. "We need to know who organized, planned, paid for, and received funds related to those events, as well as what communications organizers had with officials in the White House and Congress. We believe the witnesses we subpoenaed today have relevant information and we expect them to cooperate fully with our effort to get answers for the American people about the violence of January 6th."
In a statement on his website, Stone said he had not yet been served and "have not seen the details of what I may be asked to provide or what information they want from me." Stone insisted that he "had no advance knowledge of the events that took place at the Capitol on that day," and said any statement that he has is "categorically false."
Norm Pattis, a lawyer for Jones, said he and his client will be in contact with the committee to determine their next steps.
"The First Amendment guarantees the right of freedom of assembly and the right to petition for redress of grievances," Pattis said in a statement. "Congress's attempt to chill ordinary Americans in the exercise of these rights is terrifying."
The committee is also subpoenaing Jennifer Lawrence — not the actress — Dustin Stockton and Taylor Budowich in connection to the January 6 rally in Washington, D.C.
The select committee notes Stone has said he was planning to "lead a march to the Capitol" from the rally at the Ellipse. The committee also claims Jones reportedly helped organize the rally preceding the attack.
Last year, then-President Trump commuted Stone, former Trump campaign adviser, found guilty on all charges through an executive grant of clemency, days before Stone was scheduled to report to prison. Stone was convicted of lying to Congress, witness tampering and obstruction.
The select committee has subpoenaed a number of people who worked for the White House or were somehow connected to the rallies around the attack. Earlier this month, the committee subpoenaed former Trump senior adviser Stephen Miller and former White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany, among others.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi created the House select committee earlier this year to investigate the January 6 attack, when thousands of Trump supporters descended on the Capitol as Congress counted the electoral votes, a largely ceremonial final step affirming President Biden's victory. Lawmakers were sent fleeing amid the riot, which led to the deaths of five people and the arrests of hundreds more. Mr. Trump, who encouraged his supporters to "walk over" to the Capitol during the Stop the Steal rally, was impeached by the House one week later for inciting the riot but was later acquitted by the Senate.
Ellis Kim contributed to this report
