US House January 6 Panel to Issue Criminal Referrals for Those Refusing Interviews

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - The House of Representatives committee investigating the January 6 riot at the US Capitol will issue criminal referrals to subpoenaed individuals refusing to conduct interviews with the panel, Chairman Bennie Thompson said.

Thompson said the committee started to conduct interviews on Friday with people who volunteered to cooperate with the investigation.

"The committee will probably for those who don’t agree to come in voluntarily, we’ll do criminal referrals and let that process work out,” Thompson said on Friday as quoted by Politico.

The committee has subpoenaed former White House chiefs of staff Mark Meadows and Steve Bannon and including longtime Donald Trump aide Dan Scavino, among others. They are requested to provide documents related to the investigation by October 7 and appear for testimony later this month.

On Wednesday, the committee subpoenaed 11 organizers of Trump rallies that occurred prior to the January 6 events at the Capitol complex. Included among those newly subpoenaed is Maggie Mulvaney, who is the niece of former acting White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney. The committee said she was listed on permit paperwork for the January 6 rally as a VIP lead.

Other subpoenaed organizers include Amy Kremer, Kylie Kremer, Cynthia Chafian, Carline Wren, Justin Caporale, Time Unes, Megan Powers, Hannah Salem and Lyndon Brentnall.

On January 6, a group of Trump supporters stormed the US Capitol to protest the lawmakers certifying the 2020 presidential election results from several US states that Trump isnisted were subject to election and voter fraud. A protester, military veteran Ashli Bobbitt, was killed by police inside the Capitol. The authorities have charged some 500 people for participating in the event.