GOP lawmaker fires back over accusation that he led 'reconnaissance' tour through Capitol day before Jan. 6



Republican Rep. Barry Loudermilk (Ga.) decisively shot down on Thursday accusations that he led a "reconnaissance" tour through the United States Capitol the day before the Jan. 6 riots.

What are the accusations?

The House committee investigating Jan. 6 sent Loudermilk a letter on Thursday asking him to submit to questioning regarding a tour he "led through parts of the Capitol complex on January 5, 2021."

Democratic lawmakers, especially Rep. Mikie Sherrill (D-N.J.), have claimed some Republican lawmakers led "reconnaissance" tours through the Capitol complex prior to the riots. Republicans have denied the allegations, calling for the public release of surveillance footage."

The committee's letter to Loudermilk seized on comments an anonymous aide told The Hill, who said of the surveillance footage, "There were no tours, no large groups, no one with MAGA hats on." The letter falsely attributed the remarks to "Republicans on the Committee on House Administration."

Despite the false attribution, the letter claimed the evidence "directly contradicts that denial." Again, the denial cited by the House committee investigating Jan. 6 neither came from Loudermilk nor any other Republican lawmaker, but was attributed to an anonymous "House Republican aide."

The letter triggered a viral tweet that claimed, without evidence, "video proof" shows that Jan. 6 was an "inside job."

"BREAKING: January 6 committee has video proof of Capitol tours on January 5, 2021. They were casing the joint — it was an inside job, just as we’ve suspected," lawyer Tristan Snell tweeted. "To be clear - it’s long been obvious that such evidence exists. There are security cameras all over the Capitol. But today we got our first hint that the January 6 committee has that evidence."

BREAKING: January 6 committee has video proof of Capitol tours on January 5, 2021. \n\nThey were casing the joint \u2014 it was an inside job, just as we\u2019ve suspected.
— Tristan Snell (@Tristan Snell) 1652989779

What did Loudermilk say?

Loudermilk released a joint statement with Rep. Rodney Davis (R-Ill.) pushing back against accusations of "reconnaissance" tours.

Importantly, the letter the House committee investigating Jan. 6 sent Loudermilk does not accuse him of leading tours through the Capitol building itself. Rather, the letter simply states "parts of the Capitol complex." This could include, for example, the Rayburn House Office Building, where Loudermilk's congressional office is located.

Loudermilk and Davis wrote:

A constituent family with young children meeting with their Member of Congress in the House Office Buildings is not a suspicious group or "reconnaissance tour." The family never entered the Capitol building.

The 1/6 political circus released the letter to the press before even notifying Mr. Loudermilk, who has still not received a copy. The Select Committee is once again pushing a verifiably false narrative that Republicans conducted "reconnaissance tours" on January 5th. The facts speak for themselves; no place that the family went on the 5th was breached on the 6th, the family did not enter the Capitol grounds on the 6th, and no one in that family has been investigated or charged in connection to January 6th.

The Republican lawmakers also reiterated their request that the surveillance footage be released.

It is true the Capitol complex was closed to public tours in January 2021 because of the COVID-19 pandemic. But as Politico noted, "lawmakers and staff brought guests into the complex under the guise of 'official business' anyway."

Loudermilk has filed an ethics complaint against Democratic lawmakers over their accusations.

'The View' co-host Joy Behar insists Antifa is 'fictitious,' 'doesn't even exist'



Joy Behar, co-host of ABC's "The View," claimed during Monday's show that Antifa — a recognized violent left-wing organization responsible for much of the rioting damage to American cities over the last year — is "fictitious" and "doesn't even exist."

What are the details?

Behar made the incredible statement while the panel discussed remarks made last week by Republican Sen. Ron Johnson (Wis.) in which the lawmaker suggested he never felt "threatened" during the Capitol riot on Jan. 6, but would have been more "concerned" if the rioters were members of Black Lives Matter or Antifa.

The host took issue with Johnson's comments, saying, "If I was surrounded by people carrying weapons, people erecting nooses, screaming hang Mike Pence, bludgeoning a police officer to death, I might be a little scared. But Ron, no he's not scared of these people. He's scared of this fictitious idea of Antifa, a thing that doesn't even exist. He needs to go. He needs to go — and soon."

Here's ABC's @TheView co-host Joy Behar claiming Antifa doesn't exist during a segment on Sen. Ron Johnson's comme… https://t.co/lbDQCLxbhQ
— Tristan Justice (@Tristan Justice)1615829362.0

In attempting prove her point, Behar repeated the erroneous reporting that fallen Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick was bludgeoned to death.

What else?

"Antifa does exist," fellow co-host Meghan McCain countered, though she agreed with Behar that Johnson's comments were racist and unacceptable.

"The Anti-Defamation League has come out and said it's a both dangerous and counterproductive organization. The actual Portland courthouse was set on fire this very weekend," she said,

"What separates Antifa is their willingness to use violence," she added, pointing out that she has friends who have been reporting on Antifa's violence "for months" and noting that one was even injured by the violent agitators.

"We can say Ron Johnson is an absolute moron. We can say not all activism is violent, but the idea that Antifa doesn't exist is just, just factually inaccurate and wrong and a lie," she concluded.

Anything else?

Behar retorted by alluding to comments made last year by FBI Director Christopher Wray. Speaking at a House Homeland Security Committee meeting, Wray claimed Antifa is "not a group or an organization" but a "movement or an ideology."

What Behar failed to note, however, is that literally two seconds before he made that comment, he uttered the words, "Antifa is a real thing."

"We have any number of properly predicated investigations into what we would describe as violent anarchist extremists, and some of those individuals self-identify with Antifa," he went on to say.

CNN catches itself reporting honestly about the 'violent protests' in Kenosha — quickly removes 'violent' from chyron



In a blatant display of left-wing media bias, staffers at CNN altered a chyron mid-report to distort the truth about riots taking place in Kenosha, Wisconsin, following the recent police shooting of 29-year-old black man, Jacob Blake.

During Monday night's "The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer," CNN actually displayed an accurate report about the riots, calling them "violent protests."

That's right, for a blissful 15 seconds, the truth was actually being reported on CNN, as the chyron read: "8PM Curfew Ordered After Violent Protests Over Police Shooting Of Unarmed Black Man In Wisconsin."

But it all vanished in a flash when the network seemingly woke from its truthful haze and swapped in a new chyron — this time sans the word "violent."

The Federalist's Tristan Justice was the first to catch the stealth edit and subsequently posted the clip on Twitter for all to see.

CNN airs chyron reading "violent protests" for 15 seconds before changing to remove "violent" when reporting on Ken… https://t.co/ntnPfaIqt6
— Tristan Justice (@Tristan Justice)1598372120.0

What's the background?

Whether the protests have been "violent" or not is not exactly something up for debate at this point, as footage of the events unfolding in Kenosha posted on social media show rioters burning and destroying buildings and cars all over the town.

One rioter even pointed a gun directly in the face of Blaze Media host and reporter Elijah Schaffer while he was filming.

Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers (D), who was one of the first to publicly criticize the police officers involved despite no investigation having been conducted, had to deploy the National Guard to help quell the situation.

Among the buildings burned were a state youth correctional facility and a small office furniture store.

According to Daily Caller field reporter Jorge Venture, an entire car lot was set ablaze, as well.

What else?

Blake was reportedly taken to a Milwaukee hospital following the shooting to be treated for multiple gun shot wounds. He is expected to survive, though his father has signaled that he may be paralyzed from the waist down. Doctors have not confirmed whether the paralyzation is permanent, however.

The three officers involved in the shooting have been placed on administrative leave pending an investigation into the matter.

Many, including former Vice President Joe Biden, have already concluded that the shooting is an example of "yet another Black American [becoming] a victim of excessive force." But there are conflicting reports over whether the force used was unnecessary.