The House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 insurrection issued its third round of subpoenas on Thursday, this time targeting additional organizers of the “Stop the Steal” rally that preceded the violent Capitol insurrection.
Weeks before the Jan. 6 insurrection, Alexander said in a since-deleted video on Periscope that he had planned to put “maximum pressure on Congress” during the vote to certify the electoral college votes, claiming he had help from three GOP lawmakers, Reps. Andy Biggs (Ariz.), Mo Brooks (Ala.) and Paul A. Gosar (Ariz.). Biggs and Brooks have previously denied aiding Alexander with planning the rally. Gosar did not respond to previous requests for comment on the matter.
The plan was to “change the hearts and the minds of Republicans who were in that body, hearing our loud roar from outside,” Alexander said in the video. Alexander reportedly suggested the possibility of violence at the Jan. 6 rally, the committee noted in a news release, and led a crowd in chants of “victory or death” at a Jan. 5 rally.
Martin, who serves on as a city councilman in Shelby, Ohio, told BuzzFeed News in an interview earlier this year that he was affiliated with Stop the Steal and One Nation Under God but did not provide an explanation for why his name was listed on the permit. The permit also did not disclose a connection between the rally event and Stop the Steal.
Alexander did not immediately respond to requests for comment from The Washington Post. Martin declined to comment.
“The rally on the Capitol grounds on January 6th, like the rally near the White House that day, immediately preceded the violent attack on the seat of our democracy,” select committee Chairman Bennie G. Thompson (D-Miss.) said in a statement. “Over the course of that day, demonstrations escalated to violence and protestors became rioters. The Select Committee needs to understand all the details about the events that came before the attack, including who was involved in planning and funding them. We expect these witnesses to cooperate fully with our probe.”
The committee also issued a subpoena seeking documents and testimony from Stop the Steal LLC, a political nonprofit that was set up weeks before the 2020 election. The letter transmitting the request is addressed to George B. Coleman, the registered agent for the entity. Coleman is a member of the law firm that represents Alexander, according to the letter. Coleman did not respond to a request for comment.
The subpoenas require that records be produced by Oct. 21 and also request that Martin and Alexander testify at depositions at the end of the month.
Tom Hamburger contributed to this report.
