Watch LIVE: Day 7 of the Public Hearings of the January 6th House Select Committee

by Nomad

For the 7th day of the House Select Committee's investigation of the January 6th insurrection, the focus will now zero in on the role that extremist groups, such as Proud Boys and the OathKeepers, played in the Capitol riots. 

According to Wikipedia, the Proud Boys is a far-right, neo-fascist, and exclusively male organization that promotes and engages in political violence in the United States. The Proud Boys has been designated as a terrorist group in Canada and New Zealand.

Committee member Democratic Rep. Zoe Lofgren of California explained that the investigation will examine connections between the Trump administration and militia groups and acknowledged that Roger Stone, an ally of former President Donald Trump, and Michael Flynn, Trump's onetime national security adviser, could be two of those connections, among others. As the BBC reports:

Of particular interest to the committee is an 18 December White House meeting involving the president, Mr Flynn and Trump lawyers Rudy Giuliani and Sidney Powell - which was followed the next day by a presidential tweet exhorting his supporters to come to Washington on 6 January for a rally that would "be wild".

According to inside sources, that December 18 meeting at the White House devolved into a "shouting match" between conspiracy theorists and Trump loyalists, Flynn and Powell, and senior White House advisor, Eric Herschmann. Herschmann reportedly shouted: "How the hell did Sidney get in the building?"

"You're quitting! You're a quitter! You're not fighting!" Flynn said of Herschmann before turning to Trump and adding, "Sir, we need fighters."

(It would be spectacular if there were recordings of that exchange, wouldn't it?)

A key question before the committee is, how much did that meeting and the tweet help to instigate and inspire the violence on January 6. And, how much of a direct influence did Trump's inner circle have on those groups prior to January 6? 

Expected to testify on Tuesday is Jason Van Tatenhove, a former spokesperson and self-described "propagandist" for the Oath Keepers.
The Oath Keepers is recognized as a far-right anti-government militia whose members claim to be defending the Constitution of the United States. The organization also encourages its members to disobey orders that they believe would violate the U.S. Constitution.
Ironic, isn't it?

Tuesday's hearing, which the committee will start at 1 p.m. ET will be led by Democratic Reps. Jamie Raskin of Maryland and Stephanie Murphy of Florida, 

You can watch the proceedings LIVE here at Nomadic Politics.

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