Scanlon wants probe of ‘tours’ before Capitol attack
U.S. Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon, D-5 of Swarthmore, said she noticed a tour being given at the U.S. Capitol, in a breach of protocol, shortly before the Jan. 6 attacks and, on that day, she had to assemble the panic button in her office as it was disconnected.
On the day of the Capitol riots, Scanlon was in her office in the Longworth House Office Building, preparing for the anticipated challenge to the Pennsylvania electoral count. On Thursday, the congresswoman spoke about a tour she saw being conducted prior to the attacks.
“It was noticeable to see people getting tours,” Scanlon said, adding that tours in the facility had been suspended since COVID-19 mitigation plans were put into place last year. “When I saw the tours, I thought, ‘It must be new members who don’t know the rules yet’ ...
It was unusual.”
She recalled seeing a tour of six to eight people on either Monday or Tuesday and noticed they were wearing their masks improperly. However, she said her focus was on returning to her office to prepare for the Pennsylvania electoral challenge.
Thirty lawmakers have signed a letter requesting an investigation to various tours given prior to the riots, calling these tours “suspicious.”
When asked about the panic button in her office, she said hers was not operative at the time of the attack.
“Ours had not been attached,” Scanlon said. “I had to locate it and plug it in ... It was not connected at the time it should have been.”
U.S. Rep. Ayanna Pressley, D-7 of Massachusetts, reported that the panic buttons in her office had been torn out prior to the insurgents overtaking the Capitol. Pressley has often been targeted as a member of the Democratic group dubbed “The Squad.”
“It was not a peaceful protest,” Scanlon said, adding there was a purposefulness in the attacks. “It was a very concerted effort to break into the Capitol and to stop the count ... and kill members of Congress and the vice president.”
She said the current focus is on making certain
the outgoing president does not undermine the security of the nation and that there is a secure inauguration for the next president.
“There’s a lot of work that needs to be done,” the congresswoman said, noting
the numerous tactical failures that occurred on Jan. 6. “I think we’re going to see a number of investigations ... (they’re) still arresting people. I think we’ve got a long way to go.”
What matters most, she
said, is country.
“We need answers on what happened,” Scanlon said. “We know there’s a lot we’re going to learn going forward on what transpired on the 6th.”
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