Cassidy Hutchinson, a top aide to former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, described Trump supporters being armed with AR-15-style rifles and other weapons in testimony on Tuesday to the House of Representatives select committee.
The hearing will be held at noon Central time, the committee said in a statement on Monday. A spokesperson for the House Jan. 6 select committee had no comment on the focus of Tuesday's hearing or witnesses who will testify.
The committee also put at the center of Thursday's hearing the activities of Jeffrey Clark, a former Justice Department official and fervent Trump ally.
The committee showed a video detailing how Trump’s plan depended on legislatures in multiple states adopting alternate electors. The then-president leaned heavily on state and local officials to take action while his team of lawyers relied on conspiracy theories to back the push.
The panel heard testimony from Greg Jacob, who as Vice President Mike Pence’s chief counsel was present for multiple meetings in which John Eastman and President Donald Trump pushed the vice president to intervene. Jacob said that Pence never wavered from his initial reaction to the idea in early December.
The Washington Post reported on Wednesday that the committee had obtained emails between Thomas and attorney John Eastman, who was involved in efforts to block the certification of President Joe Biden's defeat of Donald Trump in the November 2020 election.
Thousands of Trump supporters — many chanting "Hang Mike Pence" — marched on the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, as Pence met with lawmakers for what is normally a routine ceremony to certify the election.
The House of Representatives committee investigating the riot by Trump supporters laid the groundwork on Thursday night for at least five upcoming hearings that will focus on the groups and people it says were involved in plotting and staging the riot. Testimony also will focus on Trump's activities before and during the attack.
The two witnesses at the first hearing — U.S. Capitol Police Officer Caroline Edwards and filmmaker Nick Quested — will both focus on the violence of the Jan. 6 assault.
The Democratic-led U.S. House of Representatives Select Committee on Jan. 6 will attempt to reverse Republican efforts to downplay or deny the violence of the day, with five months to go until Nov. 8 midterm elections that will determine which party controls Congress for the next two years.
