A House GOP lawmaker leading an oversight panel scrutinizing the investigation of the now-defunct Jan. 6 select committee questioned why authorities allowed for the construction of the Capitol’s infamous gallows.
Rep. Barry Loudermilk of Georgia, chairman of the House Administration Subcommittee on Oversight, released information recently about unidentified individuals who erected the gallows on the day the Capitol was breached by supporters of former President Donald Trump protesting the certification of the 2020 election.
“It is inconceivable that gallows could be constructed on U.S. Capitol property and left up all day. These men arrived early in the morning, several hours before the rally even started or anyone had gathered, to construct the gallows platform, yet this structure was allowed to stay intact for all to see,” said Mr. Loudermilk.
“Why didn’t the U.S. Capitol Police take down the gallows once it was seen on Capitol property, and why have the individuals never been identified?”
Capitol Police guidelines state, “Temporary structures of any kind may not be erected on Capitol Grounds.” Yet the gallows were left untouched by USCP officers from 6 a.m. Jan. 6, 2021, until later that evening.
According to Mr. Loudermilk, his subcommittee found that between 6:30 a.m. and 7:15 a.m. on the day the Capitol was swarmed by pro-Trump protesters, five people constructed the platform and two main pillars of the gallows.
In the morning, Mr. Loudermilk said, three passengers in a van parked north of Constitution Avenue unloaded a bundle of lumber with wheels.
The trio then walked the bundle across Constitution Avenue and onto the grass at Union Square. They were joined by two more people arriving by cab nearby.
Despite the leader’s distinctive clothing, he has never been identified publicly.
At about 1 p.m., the five individuals installed the final crossbeam and added the noose of orange rope.
After Jan. 6, the noose from the gallows was recovered by an Australian journalist and turned over to the FBI. However, three years later, the FBI still has no suspects.
The FBI declined to comment.
The Washington Times reached out to the U.S. Capitol Police but did not immediately hear back.
The Jan. 6 select committee showed a video during its first hearing in 2021 of protestors appearing to breach the Capitol chanting, “Hang Mike Pence,” followed by an image of the gallows, which had been erected hundreds of yards away.
The select committee overlapped these chants with the image of the gallows, implying the crowd of Trump supporters built them as a violent threat against Vice President Mike Pence.
According to Mr. Loudermilk, the select committee apparently didn’t review the USCP CCTV footage to identify those behind the construction of the gallows.
“If they did, they never released information about when the gallows were built and who built them — which can all be seen on CCTV footage from early in the morning on January 6,” he said.
The Times reached out to former Jan. 6 select committee Chairman Bennie Thompson for a response but did not hear back.