A tearful Nancy Pelosi announced Congress members might be prosecuted over the Capitol riot as she initiated a major security review.
Congress Members May Be Prosecuted
The House Speaker was emotional upon declaring she has asked retired Lieutenant General Russel Honoré to conduct an urgent review of security arrangements in the wake of the violence at Washington, DC.
The unexpected January 6 siege courtesy of President Donald Trump's supporters had five fatalities. This resulted in the House impeaching Trump for a second time due to an arduous speech that day in which he prompted thousands of his followers to combat President-Elect Joe Biden's victory.
The hundreds who inundated the Capitol hastily overwhelmed police officials barricading the US Capitol, calling security preparations into question, and displayed a level of detailed knowledge regarding the location of lawmakers' officers by some rioters that raised concerns.
Pelosi declared the "security infrastructure" of Capitol Hills would undergo review.
According to the House Speaker, "We must subject this whole complex to scrutiny in light of what happened and the fact that the inauguration is coming. Members are moving forward with strong oversight from committees, of course, to have after-action review. There is strong interest in the Congress in a 9/11-type commission - an outside commission to conduct that after-action review," reported Yahoo.
The Democratic speaker stated the retired army Lt. Gen Russel Honoré would spearhead the review.
Pelosi remarked that they had experienced a devastating attack on the US Capitol that threatened and traumatized Congress members, staff, and support workers, reported Independent.
Democratic lawmakers are probing whether Congress members provided rioters tours of the Capitol in the days prior to the violence.
The California lawmaker's caution comes after a number of House Democrats have remarked that people on the inside, including Congress members and police officers, may have been accomplices to perpetrate the attack.
Rep. Mikie Sherrill from New Jersey suggested previously this week that a number of lawmakers were complicit in the riot.
The House Speaker also choked up as she mentioned a "punk" who wore a hoodie to the siege with the words "Camp Auschwitz."
According to Pelosi, if it is discovered that members of Congress were accomplices to the insurrection -- if they abetted and assisted the crimes -- there might have actions to be upheld beyond the Congress in terms of prosecution, reported Daily Mail.
The investigation arrives at speculation that Republicans and Capitol Police could have played a role in organizing or allowing a fatal mob in support of Trump's efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election results he stated were "stolen" from them.
Democratic Congressman Tim Ryan of Ohio, who oversees a Capitol Police oversight committee, has stated that an investigation is looking at over one lawmaker who gave tours to groups of people at the Capitol the day prior to the siege.
