capitol riot aftermath
Alex Jones, Roger Stone subpoenaed by House committee investigating Capitol riot
The House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 Capitol riot issued subpoenas on Monday to Roger Stone, a longtime Republican operative and friend of former President Donald Trump, and right-wing conspiracy theorist Alex Jones.
Stone has until Dec. 17 and Jones until Dec. 18 to provide testimony to the committee, and both must turn over requested documents by Dec. 6. Subpoenas were also issued on Monday to Trump's current spokesman, Taylor Budowich, and conservative activists Dustin Stockton and Jennifer Lawrence. All of the witnesses have ties to the "Stop the Steal" rally that took place on Jan. 6 immediately before the riot.
In a letter to Stone, Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.), the committee chair, wrote that Stone was a person of interest because of his appearance at rallies on Jan. 5 at the Supreme Court and Freedom Plaza and "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." Jones also received a letter from Thompson, which mentioned his coordination with Stop the Steal rally organizers and promotion of Trump's false claims of election fraud on his Infowars show.
In a statement to The Washington Post, Stone said he has "said time and time again that I had no advance knowledge of the events that took place at the Capitol on that day."
The FBI and Department of Justice are both investigating Stone and Jones to determine whether they should face criminal charges for influencing Capitol rioters, the Post reports. Jones recently was found liable for defamation after falsely claiming that the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, which left 26 people dead, was a hoax.