Pelosi Says Capitol Police Will Testify About Jan. 6th Capitol Attack
The Claim
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi will bar Capitol police from testifying about the Jan. 6 insurrection.
News posted on
Emerging story
Several posts circulating on social media claim Pelosi will not allow U.S. Capitol Police officers to testify about their experiences during the Jan. 6 insurrection, during which supporters of former President Donald Trump stormed and breached the Capitol building. Social media users shared this claim across Facebook and Twitter at the beginning of July.
Misbar’s Analysis
Misbar’s investigation found that lawmakers told the press that Capitol police will get the chance to testify before members of Congress about the Jan. 6 Capitol riot. Claims otherwise are circulating as lawmakers and law enforcement agencies ramp up investigations into the Capitol riot, which resulted in five people dead and hundreds of participants charged.
At a press briefing on July 1, Rep. Bennie Thompson of Mississippi said he and other lawmakers “hope to begin the process with a hearing in which Capital Police Officers themselves will be able to testify about their experiences,” according to a transcript of the press briefing released by Pelosi’s office. Thompson is one of eight Democratic and Republican lawmakers appointed by Pelosi to a select committee that’s charged with overseeing an investigation into the insurrection. The goal of the committee is to examine the events that led up to the Capitol riot and the riot itself.
Pelosi and select committee members gave the July 1 press briefing after participating in a meeting in the House speaker’s office.
Additionally, Drew Hammill, an aide to Pelosi, debunked the claim directly in a statement to USA TODAY. When asked about the false claim making the rounds on social media, Hammill, Pelosi’s deputy chief of staff, characterized it as “completely false.”
