Jan. 6 Rally Planner to Tell House Panel He Played No Role in Violence

Ali Alexander, a salient organizer of the Stop the Steal rally that drew supporters of President Donald J. Trump to Washington connected Jan. 6, plans connected Thursday to archer the House committee investigating the onslaught connected the Capitol that helium had “nothing to bash with immoderate unit oregon lawbreaking” that day, according to a transcript of his opening statement obtained by The New York Times.

“Anyone who suggests I had thing to bash with the unlawful activities connected Jan. 6 is wrong,” Mr. Alexander, who pledged to proviso the committee with voluminous documents, plans to accidental successful a deposition. “They’re either mistaken oregon lying.”

Mr. Alexander, a provocateur who roseate successful right-wing circles successful the chaotic aftermath of the 2020 statesmanlike election, was 1 of a fistful of planners who enactment unneurotic marches and rallies astir the state protesting the outcome, culminating with the 1 successful Washington connected Jan. 6 that brought unneurotic throngs of attendees who went connected to violently tempest the Capitol.

He attended Mr. Trump’s incendiary code astatine the Ellipse adjacent the White House that day, past marched with the assemblage toward the Capitol, on with the conspiracy theorist Alex Jones of Infowars, arriving, arsenic helium enactment it successful his prepared remarks to the panel, “in the aboriginal stages of the lawbreaking.”

Late past month, the House committee issued subpoenas for some Mr. Alexander and Mr. Jones, suggesting that they mightiness person cognition of however the Stop the Steal rallies connected Jan. 6 came together.

“We request to cognize who organized, planned, paid for and received funds related to those events, arsenic good arsenic what communications organizers had with officials successful the White House and Congress,” Representative Bennie Thompson, Democrat of Mississippi and the committee chairman, said astatine the time.

The sheet is seeking accusation from Mr. Alexander astir his connections with members of Congress and his repeated usage of convulsive language, members said.

In the weeks earlier the attack, Mr. Alexander repeatedly referred during Stop the Steal events to the imaginable usage of unit to execute the organization’s goals, and helium claimed to person been successful connection with the White House and members of Congress astir events planned to undermine the authoritative number by Congress of the Electoral College results, the committee said.

Mr. Alexander has said that he, on with Representatives Mo Brooks of Alabama, Paul Gosar of Arizona and Andy Biggs of Arizona, each Republicans, acceptable the events of Jan. 6 successful motion.

“We 4 schemed up of putting maximum unit connected Congress portion they were voting,” Mr. Alexander said successful a since-deleted video posted online, “so that who we couldn’t lobby, we could alteration the hearts and the minds of Republicans who were successful that body, proceeding our large roar from outside.”

In his opening connection to the committee, Mr. Alexander plans to springiness a spirit of his idiosyncratic biography — his parent was Black and lived successful nationalist housing; his father, an Arab, disappeared from his beingness astatine a young property — and to suggest that helium has go a people for those looking to blasted the unit of Jan. 6 connected someone.

“It is not uncommon successful the aftermath of historical chaos and disruption to look for a bogeyman,” his opening connection says. “After all, idiosyncratic indispensable beryllium held accountable, right?”

Mr. Alexander besides intends to picture immoderate of the bitter rivalries that divided the tiny radical of planners that enactment unneurotic ample pro-Trump events successful Washington successful November, December and January.

According to the prepared statement, helium plans to accidental that helium sought to “de-escalate events astatine the Capitol” connected Jan. 6 portion different organizers, including Amy Kremer and her girl Kylie Kremer, who ran a radical called Women for America First, “weren’t moving with police” to quell the crowd.

In the past fewer weeks, Mr. Alexander claims to person spent much than 100 hours searching his archives for “relevant and responsive documentation to this committee’s requests,” according to his statement. He says that helium has hired “attorneys and machine consultants to beryllium arsenic responsive arsenic possible.”

Mr. Alexander’s practice comes arsenic the committee is considering a transgression contempt of Congress referral against a 3rd recalcitrant witness, Mark Meadows, who served arsenic Mr. Trump’s White House main of staff.

Mr. Meadows, who has turned implicit thousands of pages of documents to the committee, informed the sheet Tuesday that helium was nary longer consenting to beryllium for an interrogation with its investigators astatine a scheduled deposition Wednesday, reversing a deal helium reached with the sheet conscionable past week to be an interview. The leaders of the committee instantly threatened to complaint Mr. Meadows, a erstwhile congressman from North Carolina, with contempt of Congress if helium did not appear.

In a missive sent to Mr. Meadows’s lawyer connected Tuesday evening, Mr. Thompson said Mr. Meadows had provided immoderate utile accusation to the committee, including a November email that discussed appointing an alternate slate of electors to support Mr. Trump successful powerfulness and a Jan. 5 connection concerning putting the National Guard connected standby.

Understand the Claim of Executive Privilege successful the Jan. 6. Inquiry

Mr. Meadows besides turned implicit to the committee substance messages with a subordinate of Congress successful which the subordinate acknowledged a program to entity to Mr. Biden’s triumph would beryllium “highly controversial” to which Mr. Meadows responded, “I emotion it,” and different exchanges astir the request for the erstwhile president to contented a nationalist connection attempting to halt the mob arsenic unit consumed the Capitol connected Jan. 6.

But Mr. Meadows besides informed the committee helium had turned successful his cellphone utilized connected Jan. 6 to his work provider, and helium was withholding immoderate 1,000 substance messages connected with the device, prompting galore questions and the request for much practice and a deposition, Mr. Thompson said.

“The prime committee is near with nary prime but to beforehand contempt proceedings and urge that the assemblage successful which Mr. Meadows erstwhile served notation him for transgression prosecution,” helium wrote.

The committee precocious sent a flurry of subpoenas to telecommunications companies seeking the information of dozens of individuals, including Mr. Meadows, prompting his lawyer to entity to a petition helium said sought “intensely idiosyncratic communications” with nary relevance to immoderate morganatic investigation.

The subpoenas, which travel records preservation demands sent to 35 exertion and societal media companies successful August, bash not question the contented of immoderate communications but simply the dates and times of erstwhile the calls and messages took place, according to a committee aide.

The committee has present interviewed much than 275 witnesses and is receiving practice from immoderate members of erstwhile Vice President Mike Pence’s interior circle, including Marc Short, his erstwhile main of staff.

But respective high-profile witnesses are stonewalling the panel, successful enactment with a directive from Mr. Trump. The erstwhile president is battling successful tribunal to artifact the merchandise of documents requested by the committee that helium says are taxable to enforcement privilege, though the Biden medication has refused to asseverate the claim.

The House voted successful October to urge that different of Mr. Trump’s associates, Stephen K. Bannon, be charged with transgression contempt of Congress for refusing to cooperate. A national expansive assemblage subsequently indicted him connected 2 counts that could transportation a full of up to 2 years down bars. A justice connected Tuesday acceptable a July 18 proceedings day for Mr. Bannon, meaning that the prime committee volition astir apt person to hold the amended portion of a year, if not longer, for a solution of his lawsuit and immoderate imaginable practice from him.

The committee has besides recommended a contempt complaint against Jeffrey Clark, a erstwhile Justice Department lawyer who participated successful Mr. Trump’s efforts to invalidate the 2020 predetermination results, for refusing to cooperate with its inquiry. The sheet is waiting to implicit that referral until it tin find however overmuch accusation Mr. Clark is consenting to supply during a deposition scheduled for Dec. 16. Mr. Clark has said helium volition invoke his Fifth Amendment close against self-incrimination.

Another imaginable witness, John Eastman, a lawyer who wrote a memo that immoderate successful some parties liken to a blueprint for a coup to support Mr. Trump successful power, has besides indicated that helium plans to invoke the Fifth Amendment successful effect to the committee’s subpoena.

A 3rd witness, the governmental operative Roger J. Stone Jr., told the committee this week that he, too, planned to invoke his close against self-incrimination successful defying a subpoena, declining to beryllium for an interrogation oregon nutrient documents.