House Republicans plan to tour DC jail where Jan. 6 defendants are held
Written by ABC AUDIO on March 24, 2023
(WASHINGTON) — Republican members of the House Oversight Committee, including chairman James Comer, say they plan to tour a Washington, D.C., jail on Friday where some Jan. 6 defendants are being held.
The congressional delegation is being led by Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., one of the most vocal critics of the detainment of individuals charged in connection with the attack on the U.S. Capitol.
Speaking with ABC News earlier this week, Greene said the visit would focus on the conditions of those being jailed, including what Greene claimed to be “reports of abuse.”
Greene claimed those being held pretrial are “not allowed to see their families, many times are not allowed to see their attorneys” and that “the food has been a major complaint. There’s been complaints of it tasting like cleaner.”
GOP members of the panel are expected to hold a news conference following the tour.
Two Democrats on the panel are expected to join 14 Republican members on the tour, according to a list of participants provided by Greene’s office: Rep. Summer Lee of Pennsylvania and Rep. Jasmine Crockett of Texas.
Crockett framed her participation as a check on her Republican colleagues in a series of Twitter posts on Friday morning.
“Today, I will visit the jail where insurrectionists are being held as a member of the Oversight committee to ensure that the Truth is told & not another revisionist alternative reality. As a former PD & civil rights lawyer, I’ve seen inhumane conditions,” she wrote. “It’s important we don’t conflate their less than 5 star stay w/ the truly inhumane conditions that mostly black & brown folk have suffered through for decades.”
Most people charged with a crime in relation to the Jan. 6 attack have been released as they await trial. A spokesperson for the U.S. Attorney’s Office in D.C. told ABC News earlier this month that there were “approximately two dozen defendants” in pre-trial detention and nearly all of them were charged with assaultive conduct.
Comer, R-Ky., told reporters on Wednesday members are “gonna try and see what it looks like” inside the facility.
“That’s part of what the Oversight Committee does with everything pertaining to the federal government, so we have some members that are going to hopefully tour that prison,” he said.
Greene and Comer sent a letter to D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser pressing her for documents and communications regarding Jan. 6 detainees’ complaints.
The jail tour comes amid a wave of activity from House Republicans regarding Jan. 6 since they took over the chamber in January. They’ve created a committee to investigate alleged security failures and the previous House Jan. 6 committee’s work.
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