House GOP panel to hold hearing on Jan. 6 pipe bombs
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Rep. Barry Loudermilk. Photo: Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images.
A Republican-led House panel plans to hold a hearing on the pipe bombs left outside the Democratic National Committee and Republican National Committee headquarters on the morning of the Jan. 6 attack.
Why it matters: It's a mystery that remains unsolved more than three years after the deadly assault on the Capitol, for which more than 1,350 people have been criminally charged.
- The FBI said in January that its $500,000 reward for information about the pipe bomber remains in effect.
Driving the news: The House Administration Committee's oversight subcommittee, led by Rep. Barry Loudermilk (R-Ga.), will hold the hearing on March 12.
- The hearing is entitled "Three Years Later: Assessing the Law Enforcement Response to Multiple Pipe Bombs on January 6, 2021."
- The witnesses include an assistant chief of the Capitol Police, a former D.C. Transit Authority K-9 official, a retired FBI special agent and the CEO of the U.S. Bomb Technician Association.
The backdrop: Former Capitol Police Chief Steven Sund testified to a Senate panel in 2021 that he believes the bombs were "right off the edge of our perimeter to, what I suspect, draw resources away."
- "I think there was a significant coordination with this attack," he added.
- Later that year, the FBI released footage of the pipe bomb suspect wearing a face mask, glasses, a gray hooded sweatshirt and gloves, using a backpack to transport the bombs.
Between the lines: Loudermilk has been spearheading an investigation into Jan. 6, including going after the Democrat-led Jan. 6 committee and challenging official accounts of the attack.
- Some Republicans have argued it's a mistake for their party to dwell on the attack given how damaging it was politically.
- The Jan. 6 committee ultimately focused its energy on former President Trump, recommending he be charged with four criminal counts.
- The former president is currently facing prosecution by the Justice Department for his actions connected to Jan. 6.
