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    Tuesday, May 07, 2024

    Roger Stone, Alex Jones subpoenaed by House panel investigating Jan. 6 attack on Capitol

    Former Donald Trump adviser Roger Stone leaves the United States District Court following a hearing on February 21, 2019, in Washington, D.C. (Washington Post photo by Ricky Carioti)

    WASHINGTON - The House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol issued subpoenas Monday to more people involved with the Stop the Steal rally, including conspiracy theorist and right-wing media figure Alex Jones and longtime Donald Trump ally Roger Stone. 

    The committee has asked Stone and Jones to provide testimony by Dec. 17 and Dec. 18, respectively, and to provide the panel with requested documents by Dec. 6.

    Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., the committee's chairman, wrote that Jones's coordination with Cindy Chafian and Caroline Wren in organizing the rally that preceded the attack on the Capitol, along with his promotion of Trump's false claims of election fraud and urging of people to travel to Washington for the Jan. 6 rally, make him a person of interest.

    Thompson cites Stone's appearance at rallies on Jan. 5 at the Supreme Court and Freedom Plaza as reason for the subpoena, along with his use of "Oath Keepers as personal security guards, several of whom were reportedly involved in the attack on the Capitol and at least one of whom has been indicted."

    The roles that the high-profile right-wing figures played in the Jan. 6 Capitol breach - and their potential ties to those who committed violence in the riot - are also being investigated by the Justice Department and the FBI. The investigation is ongoing.

    Investigators have been working to determine whether Stone and Jones, the host of Infowars, should face potential criminal charges for influencing Capitol rioters through their networks and actions.

    In a statement, Stone said he had yet to receive the subpoena but denied any responsibility for the violence on Jan. 6.

    "I have said time and time again that I had no advance knowledge of the events that took place at the Capitol on that day," he said. "Any statement, claim, insinuation, or report alleging, or even implying, that I had any involvement in or knowledge, whether advance or contemporaneous, about the commission of any unlawful acts by any person or group in or around the U.S. Capitol or anywhere in Washington, D.C. on January 6, 2021, is categorically false."

    Stone, a longtime confidant of Trump, has amplified the former president's false claims that the 2020 election was stolen and rife with voter fraud in the weeks leading up to the attack.

    Records and documents previously reviewed by The Washington Post show that Jones and Stone have promoted extremist groups such as the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers and have ties to some individuals who have already been charged by the government with coordinating and planning certain parts of the breach.

    Jones has spread numerous false claims about a variety of topics over the years, and courts have recently ruled he must pay damages in lawsuits filed by the families of eight people killed in the 2012 mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School after he falsely said the deadly attack was a "hoax."

    The committee has also subpoenaed conservative activists Dustin Stockton and Jennifer Lawrence - a couple with ties to some of the rally organizers who have already been subpoenaed by the committee. The committee letters cite Stockton and Lawrence's work with Women for America First in organizing rallies held after the November 2020 election "in support of then-President Trump and his allegations of election fraud, up through and including the rally held on the Ellipse in Washington, D.C. on January 6, 2021."

    Taylor Budowich, a current spokesperson for Trump, was also subpoenaed Monday and has been asked to produce documents and appear for a deposition Dec. 16. The committee cited Budowich efforts that included "directing to the 501(c) (4) organization approximately $200,000 from a source or sources that was not disclosed to the organization to pay for the advertising campaign" for the Jan. 6 rally.

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