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According to reporting by Rolling Stone, two planners of the pro-Trump rallies on January 6 who are cooperating with the House Select committee investigating the insurrection, claim that GOP lawmakers and White House officials were intimately involved in the planning of both the rallies that day, as well as efforts to overturn the election loss.
In a report published over the weekend, the two unidentified individuals were described as the “rally organizer” and the “planner.”
Before Trump’s rally on January 6, the sources said they attended “dozens” of planning briefings. After the demonstration, protestors marched to the Capitol, where they became violent, overpowered Capitol Police, and stormed the building, disrupting the Electoral College vote counting by a joint session of Congress. The violence resulted in the deaths of five people.
The report named GOP Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene, Paul Gosar, Lauren Boebert, Mo Brooks, Madison Cawthorn, Andy Biggs, and Louie Gohmert as those who either participated in the work or sent top staffers.
The two sources told Rolling Stone that Donald Trump’s chief of staff, Mark Meadows, was also involved in the conversations leading up to the January 6 riot.
“Meadows was 100 percent made aware of what was going on,” one of the planners said, adding that he was “a frequent figure in these relatively tiny groups of national organizers.”
Meadows was also concerned that the “Stop the Steal” rally could turn violent.
The Select committee has called Meadows to testify, and they say that he is “so far, engaging with the Select Committee.”
According to Rolling Stone, Gosar suggested a “blanket pardon” for those organizing the protests, with one of the two sources claiming, “our impression was that it was a done deal.”
The source added, “That he’d spoken to the president about it in the Oval … in a meeting about pardons and that our names came up. They were working on submitting the paperwork and getting members of the House Freedom Caucus to sign on as a show of support.”
According to the source, Gosar gave “several assurances” in regards to the pardon.
Greene’s office sent a statement to The Hill in response to Rolling Stone’s allegation, claiming that the congresswoman and her staff were entirely focused on objecting to the Electoral College vote’s certification and “had nothing to do with the planning of any protest.”
Democratic lawmakers “tried to prevent President Trump’s election win from being certified,” she said.
“No one cares about January 6 when gas prices are skyrocketing, grocery store shelves are empty, unemployment is skyrocketing, businesses are going bankrupt, our border is being invaded, children are forced to wear masks, vaccine mandates are getting workers fired, and 13 members of our military are murdered by the Taliban and Americans are left stranded in Afghanistan,” her office added.
The two Rolling Stone sources informed the magazine that they have been in contact with the panel on an informal basis so far, but they intend to testify in front of a public audience.
“I have no problem openly testifying,” one of the sources said.
