US House committee to focus on Trump, Proud Boys and Oath Keepers at Capitol riot hearing

The House committee probing the 2021 assault on the US Capitol will examine connections between associates of former president Donald Trump and far right-wing extremist groups at its seventh hearing on Tuesday, as reported by AFP. Democratic Representative Zoe Lofgren said, "We are going to be connecting the dots during these hearings between these groups and those who were trying -- in government circles -- to overturn the election."

The lawmaker from California told CNN the session would focus on ties between members of Trump's inner circle and the Proud Boys and the Oath Keepers. Members of the two militia groups stormed the Capitol on January 6, 2021, along with thousands of Trump supporters in a bid to prevent certification of Democrat Joe Biden's election victory.

Jason Van Tatenhove, a former member of the Oath Keepers, is expected to testify at Tuesday's televised hearing, which begins at 1:00 pm (1700 GMT) and is expected to last at least two hours. Five members of the Proud Boys were indicted on seditious conspiracy charges in June in connection with the assault on the Capitol. Eleven members of the Oath Keepers have also been charged with seditious conspiracy and three of them have pleaded guilty.

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A select committee aide said Tuesday's hearing will focus on a tweet Trump sent on December 19 telling his supporters to come to Washington on January 6 and promising it will be 'wild'. The aide said, "They immediately started answering his call by zeroing in on that date. We'll talk about how that was a pivotal moment that spurred a chain of events." The tweet was sent a little more than an hour after Trump met at the White House with his lawyer Rudy Giuliani, former general Mike Flynn, and Sidney Powell, another attorney.

More than 850 people have been arrested in connection with the storming of Congress by Trump supporters. Still, only those 16 face seditious conspiracy charges, which carry a sentence of up to 20 years in prison. The committee is trying to determine whether Trump or his associates had a role in planning or encouraging the violent attack on Congress, and has subpoenaed numerous advisors and aides to the former president. Excerpts may be played on Tuesday from an eight-hour interview the committee held on Friday with former Trump White House counsel Pat Cipollone.

(with inputs from agencies)

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