The House select committee probing the Jan. 6, 2021 insurrection on the U.S. Capitol will continue this week.
The second hearing is set for 10 a.m. ET Monday, one of about half a dozen public hearings regarding the Capitol attacks and the role of former President Donald Trump in the violence. The committee has spent a year interviewing almost 1,000 witnesses regarding efforts to overturn the 2020 election and the violence that followed.
Here’s a look at Alabama’s connections to the Jan. 6 insurrection and the hearings:
Mo Brooks – Brooks, a Republican Congressman from Huntsville who is currently in a runoff with Katie Britt to replace retiring U.S. Senator Richard Shelby, has been a central figure in the Jan. 6 investigation.
Brooks is reportedly among five Congressmen the committee plans to subpoena though he has not been served regarding what he describes as a “witch hunt” regarding that day’s events.
Brooks spoke at pro-Trump rally the morning of Jan. 6, telling the crowd “today is the day American patriots start taking down names and kicking ass.” He later said those comments referred to removing establishment Republicans from office.
President Trump initially endorsed Brooks’ Senate bid but later switched his backing to Britt.
Jalen Drummond – According to CNN, Drummond, former White House assistant press secretary who was with President Trump often on Jan. 5 and 6, was contacted by the committee for a voluntary interview. Drummond is a native of Wedowee and a graduate of the University of Alabama.
Sen. Tommy Tuberville – Tuberville’s name was injected into the Jan. 6 discussion when it was revealed Trump called the Alabama Senator to convince him to make additional objections to the Electoral College vote in an attempt to block Congress’ certification of President-elect Joe Biden’s win.
Tuberville, whose first day on the Senate floor occurred during the day of the riot, previously said he believes those who were involved in ransacking the Capitol should be “looked into,” but that the incident “is all behind us now.”
Kevin Greeson – The 55-year-old Athens native was one of five people who died on Capitol grounds on Jan. 6. Greeson died of a heart attack.
Alabamians arrested on Jan. 6 – Nearly a dozen Alabamians were arrested for events connected to Jan. 6 riot.
One of the most high profile was Joshua James, an Arab, AL man who was charged with conspiracy, entering a restricted building, seditious conspiracy, obstructing of an official proceeding, civil disorder and aiding and abetting.
In April, he pleaded guilty to seditious conspiracy and obstruction of an official proceeding. The maximum penalty for each crime is 20 years in federal prison.
Another Alabama man, Lonnie Coffman, 72, of Falkville, was sentenced to four years in prison in connection to the insurrection. Coffman, a Vietnam War veteran who served in the U.S. Army, pleaded guilty in November to possession of an unregistered firearm and carrying a pistol without a license. He was carrying a loaded handgun and revolver without a license as he walked in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 6, 2021, according to prosecutors. He isn’t accused of entering the Capitol or joining the mob during the riot that day.
