Panel Subpoenas 11 in Capitol Riot Inquiry, Eyeing Jan. 6 Rally Planners

WASHINGTON — The House select committee investigating the Capitol attack issued 11 more subpoenas on Wednesday, targeting allies of President Donald J. Trump who were involved in the planning and organizing of the “Stop the Steal” rally that fueled the mob violence on Jan. 6.

The subpoenas indicated that the committee was trying to delve deeper into their investigation of the rally, when thousands came to the Capitol as Mr. Trump tried to pressure Congress and his own vice president, Mike Pence, to overturn the results of the 2020 election. The pro-Trump group Women for America First organized the Jan. 6 rally on the Ellipse, where an agitated audience listened as Mr. Trump made clear that he was furious with Mr. Pence for resisting his plan to undermine the election and that he wanted the crowd to go to the Capitol immediately afterward in protest.

It was there that they heard Mr. Trump’s personal lawyer Rudolph W. Giuliani call for “trial by combat” against Democrats to win the election.

The panel sent subpoenas to Amy Kremer, the chairwoman of Women for America First, which helped plan the rally near the White House on Jan. 6; Caroline Wren, a Trump fund-raiser, who is listed as a “V.I.P. advisor” in a National Park Service permit for the event; Cindy Chafian, another organizer; Hannah Salem Stone, who managed logistics for the rally; and Justin Caporale, a former top aide to Melania Trump, the former first lady.

The committee also sent subpoenas to Katrina Pierson, Mr. Trump’s former national campaign spokeswoman; Kylie Jane Kremer, the daughter of Amy Kremer, who was involved with the “March for Trump” bus tour; Lyndon Brentnall, the owner of a Florida-based security company contracted for the rally; Maggie Mulvaney, a niece of the former top Trump aide Mick Mulvaney, who is listed on the permit for the rally; Megan Powers, a former operations director for Mr. Trump; and Tim Unes, whose company was listed as the stage manager for the gathering.

“You assisted in organizing the rally held at the Ellipse in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 6, 2021, in support of then-President Trump and his allegations of election fraud,” Representative Bennie Thompson, Democrat of Mississippi and the chairman of the committee, wrote in letters accompanying the subpoenas. “President Trump spoke at the rally shortly before the attack on the Capitol, urging the crowd to ‘fight much harder’ and ‘stop the steal.’”

In addition to the Jan. 6 rally, Women for America First organized two rallies at Freedom Plaza in Washington on Nov. 14 and Dec. 12, and two “March for Trump” bus tours that generated interest and attendance at the rallies, the select committee said.

The subpoenas seek a range of records that include materials dealing with planning, funding and participation in the events and bus tours; social media activity of associated entities; and communications with Trump officials and lawmakers.

The subpoenas are the second batch that the panel has issued, after an initial tranche that focused on some of Mr. Trump’s closest allies who were in contact with him before and during the deadly attack. The speed with which the committee is issuing the subpoenas indicates that it is moving aggressively on its investigation, without pausing to negotiate with key witnesses.

Mr. Thompson has said the panel plans to dig deeper into the pressure campaign Mr. Trump and his allies carried out to overturn President Biden’s victory, and to explore who encouraged militia and extremist groups to come to Washington before the assault.

The committee last week sought information from Mark Meadows, the former White House chief of staff; Dan Scavino Jr., who was a deputy chief of staff; Stephen K. Bannon, Mr. Trump’s former adviser; and Kash Patel, the former Pentagon chief of staff.

It demanded that the four men turn over documents by Oct. 7 and submit to depositions the following week.

“Everyone has a legal duty to comply with the subpoenas,” Representative Jamie Raskin, Democrat of Maryland and a member of the committee, said this week. “We have every reason to expect that they will comply.”

The committee has also started reaching out to criminal defendants who have pleaded guilty to charges in connection with the Capitol attack, though it remains unclear how many of those 70 have been contacted and how they might ultimately give interviews to investigators.

One of the defendants the committee has sought out is Scott Fairlamb, a New Jersey gym owner who pleaded guilty in August to assaulting police officers during the attack, according to his lawyer, Harley Breite.

Mr. Breite, who received an email from the committee last week, said he would be in Washington on Thursday to consult with Mr. Fairlamb about whether he wanted to speak with investigators.

The latest subpoenas came as the committee demanded detailed records about Mr. Trump’s every movement and meeting on Jan. 6, in requests to federal agencies that suggested that it was focusing on any involvement he might have had in the planning or execution of the attack.

The committee also sent record preservation demands last month to 35 technology companies, according to several people familiar with the documents who spoke about their contents on the condition of anonymity. About a dozen House Republicans are among hundreds of people whose records the committee is seeking to preserve, including Representative Kevin McCarthy of California, the minority leader, who has threatened to retaliate against any company that complies.

Alan Feuer contributed reporting.