Bolton, MS—Chairman Bennie G. Thompson today announced that the Select Committee has issued additional subpoenas seeking testimony and records related to the “Stop the Steal” rally that took place on the grounds of the United States Capitol on January 6th, 2021. The subpoenas seek deposition testimony from Ali Abdul Akbar, also known as Ali Alexander, and Nathan Martin, who are connected to permit applications for the rally, and request the production of records from those individuals and from Stop the Steal, LLC, an organization affiliated with the event.
Chairman Thompson issued the following statement:
“The rally on the Capitol grounds on January 6th, like the rally near the White House that day, immediately preceded the violent attack on the seat of our democracy. Over the course of that day, demonstrations escalated to violence and protestors became rioters. The Select Committee needs to understand all the details about the events that came before the attack, including who was involved in planning and funding them. We expect these witnesses to cooperate fully with our probe.”
According to documents provided to the Select Committee, an organization named “One Nation Under God” submitted a permit application in December 2020 to the U.S. Capitol Police for a rally about “the election fraud in the swing states” to be held on the U.S. Capitol Grounds on January 6th, 2021.
Nathan Martin’s phone number and email address were listed among the contact information for “One Nation Under God.” A vendor who was also listed on the permit application informed Capitol Police that he was reporting to Ali Alexander and Mr. Martin and identified them both as being affiliated with Stop the Steal. On two of its websites, Stop the Steal advertised the Capitol rally event and sought donations to offset expenses for January 6th.
However, the permit application did not disclose any connection between Stop the Steal and the Capitol rally event. Further, when a Capitol Police official spoke with Mr. Martin at the end of December 2020, Mr. Martin claimed not to have any information about the rally and directed the official to speak with the vendor. According to the police official, the vendor was “shocked” to learn this because he was in “daily communication” with Mr. Martin about the event.
After the January 6th attack, Mr. Alexander released a statement acknowledging that Stop the Steal had obtained the rally permit “for our ‘One Nation Under God’ event.” Mr. Alexander explained that it was the intention of Stop the Steal to direct attendees of the rally on the Ellipse to march at the conclusion of that rally to Lot 8 on the U.S. Capitol Grounds, which is the location for which the Capitol Police granted the permit for the “One Nation Under God” rally. Yet the permit application estimated the event would have only 50 attendees.
According to press reports, in the weeks before the January 6th attack, Mr. Alexander made repeated reference during Stop-the-Steal-sponsored events to the possible use of violence to achieve the organization’s goals and claimed to have been in communication with the White House and Members of Congress regarding events planned to coincide with the certification of the 2020 Electoral College results. Additionally, Mr. Alexander reportedly spoke at a rally on January 5th, 2021, held by the Eighty Percent Coalition at Freedom Plaza in Washington, D.C., and led the crowd in a chant of “victory, or death.”
Stop the Steal, LLC appears to be a corporate entity affiliated with Mr. Alexander, Mr. Martin, and Stop the Steal. The Terms of Service on a Stop the Steal website refer to Stop the Steal, LLC.
The subpoenas require production of records by October 21st, 2021 and require Mr. Martin and Mr. Alexander to testify at depositions on October 28th and 29th, respectively.
Last week, the Select Committee issued subpoenas to 11 individuals associated with the rally held at the Ellipse on January 6th, 2021 prior to the violent attack on the Capitol. Additionally, the Select Committee has issued subpoenas seeking records and testimony from four individuals closely tied to the former President in the days surrounding the January 6th insurrection.
