Dem Capitol Hill staffer highlights the most 'chilling' parts of newly released 'reconnaissance tour' video
A Capitol Police officer stands guard in front of the US Capitol Building, on June 14, 2017 (AFP)
June 15, 2022
Aaron Fritschner, the deputy chief of staff for Rep. Don Beyer (D-VA), claimed on Wednesday that a newly released video of a Capitol tour given on the eve of the January 6 riots was particularly "chilling."
Writing on Twitter, Fritschner noted the highly unusual locations where an unidentified man wearing a red "Make America Great Again" hat was taking photographs while inside the Capitol.
"I am immediately convinced that this is reconnaissance," he observed. "He's taking pictures of the entry points around the security checkpoint to the Cannon Tunnel, which connects the House Office Buildings to the U.S. Capitol."
One day after the tour, the man would attend former President Donald Trump's "Stop the Steal" rally and would make threatening remarks about multiple Democratic lawmakers as he walked toward the Capitol afterward.
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The tour in question was given by Rep. Barry Loudermilk (R-GA), who has angrily denied giving reconnaissance tours to Trump supporters who would go on to storm the Capitol on January 6, 2021.
Although there's no evidence to indicate Loudermilk knew the man's intention when he gave his tour, Fritschner does find it suspicious that he went out of his way to take his tour to certain locations.
"The tour route sticks out to me," he said. "I've given many tours, and I don't understand why he showed them both the Rayburn and Cannon Tunnels. Separate routes from different places into the Capitol, which is where your tour group always wants to get. Why did Loudermilk take them to both?"
He then accused Loudermilk and other Republicans of flat-out lying about giving tours in the days leading up to the deadly riots.
"Consider what Republicans said in February 2021: 'There were no tours, no large groups, no one with MAGA hats on,'" he wrote. "There WAS a tour. It was bigger than the pre-pandemic tour size limit. The footage clearly shows a person with a MAGA hat on. They lied."
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