Res ipsa non loquitur

Same MAGGOT or different MAGGOT?

Do you remember the claim by at least one Democratic congresswoman that she saw a group of obvious (e.g. MAGA regalia, spoke only in guttural grunts, metal plate in his head, etc.) Trump supporters being given a "tour" of the Capitol on January 5, 2021?.

It turns out it's true. In part. Maybe. But it gets confusing.The Jan. 6 committee released a video compilation today. It introduces the compilation with:

Which "same man"? The cameraman or his "companion"?

 

 The video gets at a charge that some Democrats leveled in the immediate aftermath of the assault on the Capitol and that the House committee investigating it has hinted at ever since: that Republican members of Congress effectively made it possible for some of the rioters to study the layout of the complex before their violent rampage.

When the accusation originally was made (by Representative Mikie Sherrill D-NJ) Republicans vehemently denied that any of their members conducted any tours on Jan. 5. The video and stills do appear, clearly, to contradict that assertion. Representative Barry Loudermilk, R-GA is seen clearly. He is seen talking with an individual and gesturing and appears to be leading some group of individuals. 

The committee contributed to the confusion by its introductions and by putting the video together with footage of Jan. 6 first and Jan. 5 second. The New York Times account is confusing.

The MAGGOT on Jan. 6 is carrying an American flag with the tip of its mast sharpened, which he proudly shows for the camera and jabs the air as if he is running a man through. at the camera. 

MAGGOT CAMERAMAN: "This is our fearless leader." (emphasis added)

MAGGOT FLAGSPEAR: "Check out the flag I made guys. See it?" (emphasis added)

The flag-spear is for,

 "a certain person."  But it is unclear who says this. I have listened three or four times. Clearly there is at least one other person with Cameraman and Flagspear, thus my emphasis on the plural. Listening closely I believe (50%+1) "a certain person" is said by MAGGOT UNIDENTIFIED, not by CAMERAMAN or FLAGSPEAR.

MAGGOT CAMERAMAN: "There’s no escape, Pelosi, Schumer, Nadler. We’re coming for you. We’re coming in like white on rice for Pelosi, Nadler, Schumer — even you, A.O.C. We’re coming to take you out and pull you out by your hairs. How 'bout that Pelosi? Mightswell make yourself another appointment [hairdresser apparently]. When I get done with you, you’re going to need a shine up on top of that bald head."

A committee aide said investigators had learned that the voice was that of the man seen in the surveillance footage of Mr. Loudermilk’s tour taking a photograph of a staircase in the Capitol complex.

But there are at least two, and I believe three, MAGGOTS talking in the Jan. 6 footage, Flagspear and his cameraman and plausibly Unidentified. Which voice is the committee saying is that of the Jan. 5 MAGGOT? The face of the MAGGOT CAMERAMAN is not shown on the Jan. 6 footage. Why aren't the MAGGOTS real names used? What is the real name of the Jan. 5 MAGGOT? What is the real name of MAGGOT FLAGSPEAR? What is the real name of MAGGOT CAMERAMAN? Was there anyone else with CAMERAMAN and FLAGSPEAR in the Jan. 6 video.
...

The panel released surveillance video of a tour of parts of the Capitol complex conducted by Representative Barry Loudermilk, Republican of Georgia, a day before the violence [emphasis added]. During,

1)  the tour — which lasted several hours,  

2) despite the complex being closed to the public at the time — he [one of the aforementioned MAGGOTS] is seen with the group entering 

3) three different office buildings 

4) and approaching the entrances to tunnels leading to the Capitol.

Sounds like an open-and-shut case...But against whom?

Individuals on the tour photographed and recorded areas of the complex that are “not typically of interest to tourists, including hallways, staircases and security checkpoints,” the committee said.

No indeed.

 

"Ah, the famous George Washington stairwell. Lemme get a shot of that."

 "The Ronald Reagan metal detector. Oh jeez, wonder if my steel plate will set that Democrat thing off."

Who is that MAGGOT? His shirt is black not gray.

One of the Jan. 6 MAGGOTS is heard to say Rep. Nadler's name twice.

Loudermilk in suit. Now that is not MAGGOT #1. The committee believes that that is another MAGGOT (and he does look like one).

Now, this is the lede to the story in NYT:

Jan. 6 Panel Says Capitol Marcher Toured With G.O.P. Congressman

Loudermilk's defense is: "I wasn't with either Jan. 6 MAGGOTS or their group and they weren't with me. I conducted a different group."

 

And I do not think the video compilation shows MAGGOT Flagspear on both days.

 

                                                                            Jan. 5:

                                                        

                                                                          Jan. 6:

Those are very prominent eyeglasses and the man depicted on Jan. 5 does not appear to be wearing any glasses, or if he is they have transparent frames. Maybe he had two sets? Maybe. Maybe he was wearing contacts on Jan. 5? No. Maybe the big glasses are a disguise? Maybe the bootblack on his hair on Jan. 5 is disguise? Put it this way: the committee's video does not come close to proving beyond a reasonable doubt that the same person is shown on Jan. 5 and Jan. 6.

The Capitol Police have twice held that Loudermilk did not lead the group that included the MAGGOT. Most recently on June 13 they sent the committee this letter:

 

It's like the committee and Chief Manger are talking about different things. The committee says three buildings, I don't know the Capitol so I don't know if Mangers letter describes two or three buildings. The committee says the Loudermilk group "approached the entrance to tunnels;" Manger writes that Loudermilk's group "did not appear in any of the tunnels..." I don't know why real names are not used. It is not even clear that Manger and the committee are talking about the same MAGGOTS. I am puzzled by Manger's concluding clause, "...we do not consider any of the activities we observed as suspicious." The Jan. 5 footage is not even "suspicious"? However all of that is, if the committee means to prove by its video compilation that the Jan. 5 MAGGOT is either MAGGOT FLAGSPEAR or MAGGOT CAMERAMAN or if there is a third MAGGOT, then MAGGOT UNIDENTIFIED then the committee needs its eyesight examined.