Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene plans to invite other members along when she visits defendants who are being jailed in connection with the attack on the Capitol on January 6, 2021.
The Hill quotes Greene as saying she is drafting a letter to send to other lawmakers requesting permission to visit the D.C. Department of Prisons. James Comer, the chair of the House Oversight Committee and a Republican from Kentucky, is assisting Greene and expressed astonishment at how many other members have expressed interest in traveling with her, even though he said he was not sure whether he would go with her.The controversial Georgia representative visited the prison wing housing numerous Jan. 6 suspects in 2021, and since then, according to The Hill, she has reportedly been trying to arrange another tour. She claims that the accused received unfair treatment in the facility.
We’re going to talk about how they were refused access to their families and put in solitary confinement for up to 23 hours every day, she said.Greene’s accusations also include complaints about the quality of food and poor conditions of the facility, ABC News reports. A 2021 inspection of the the D.C. central jail resulted in the relocation of about 400 inmates because it did not meet federal standards. An inspection of the facility where the Jan. 6 defendants are being held “did not identify conditions” that would require a transfer of prisoners, the U.S. Marshals Service determined at the time.
There are about two dozen defendants being held in pre-trial detention at the facility, a U.S. District Attorney’s Office spokesperson told ABC News.
“Almost all of those detainees are charged with assaultive conduct, and none are charged with a misdemeanor,” the spokesperson said.The potential visit to the facility would be open to lawmakers outside of the House Oversight Committee, Greene said, adding that both Republicans and Democrats could attend.
Though Comer has not committed to visiting the Department of Corrections, he said it is important to observe the facility, ABC News reports.
“We’re gonna try and see what it looks like. That’s part of what the Oversight Committee does with everything pertaining to the federal government, so we have some members that are going to hopefully tour that prison,” Comer said.
