January 6: Capitol tour by lawmaker 'raises concern' says select committee

US lawmakers investigating the Capitol riot have put out video of a Republican congressman giving a tour to a man who later returned on 6 January 2021.

Congressman Barry Loudermilk, the committee says, is seen with a group that includes a person who was among those outside the Capitol the next day.

Mr Loudermilk has called it a "smear campaign" by the committee.

Some Democrats have accused Republicans of helping rioters scout the Capitol in the days before the attack.

Supporters of Mr Trump stormed Congress in a bid to thwart certification of Joe Biden's election victory. A separate ongoing criminal investigation has led to arrests in nearly every state of more than 800 people overall.

The video, released online by the Democratic-led committee on Wednesday, shows Mr Loudermilk and members of his staff leading a group of about 10 people on a tour of a House of Representatives office building, a short walk from the main Capitol building.

"Individuals on the tour photographed and recorded areas of the complex not typically of interest to tourists, including hallways, staircases, and security checkpoints," committee chairman and Mississippi Democrat Bennie Thompson said, adding that the building was closed at the time of the tour.

The congressional investigators also released video of one tour-goer - who was not identified - outside the Capitol on the day of the riot, saying of Democratic members of Congress: "There's no escape .. we're coming to take you out."

The committee did not claim that the man actually entered the Capitol, and they have not formally accused the Georgia congressman of leading a reconnaissance tour.

Mr Loudermilk has cited a letter from US Capitol Police saying there was nothing suspicious about his participation in the tour.

The letter from Capitol Police Chief J Thomas Manger, released on Monday, said of the tour: "We train our officers on being alert for people conducting surveillance or reconnaissance, and we do not consider any of the activities we observed as suspicious."

In a statement after the footage was released, Mr Loudermilk tweeted: "The Capitol Police already put this false accusation to bed, yet the Committee is undermining the Capitol Police and doubling down on their smear campaign".

The 6 January select committee is seeking to show that former President Donald Trump's election fraud claims led directly to an attack on the US Capitol. They are due to hold more hearings later this week.