AOC
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., on Monday, August 24, 2020.
Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images/Pool
  • Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez warned her Democratic colleagues to "be careful" about which Republicans they allow to sit on the committee investigating the Jan. 6 Capitol riot.
  • "There are indications that some of these folks were in on it, & we can't have them be a part of the investigation," she tweeted.
  • Just two House Republicans voted for the committee after the party torpedoed a bipartisan commission last month.
  • See more stories on Insider's business page.

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez warned her Democratic colleagues to "be careful" about which Republicans they allow to sit on the select committee to investigate the Jan. 6 capitol riot because she claimed some GOP members "were in on it."

On Wednesday, the House voted almost entirely along party lines to form a select committee to investigate the events of Jan. 6. The 13-member committee will be comprised of eight members selected by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and five selected "after consultation with the minority leader." Republicans, who torpedoed a bipartisan commission to investigate the Capitol riot, called the select committee "rigged from the start."

"We need a Select Committee to investigate the Jan. 6th domestic terrorist attack," the congresswoman tweeted on Wednesday night. "But we must also be careful about any Republicans that may serve on the committee. There are indications that some of these folks were in on it, & we can't have them be a part of the investigation."

A slew of Republican lawmakers, including Reps. Paul Gosar, Matt Gaetz, Andrew Clyde, have attempted to minimize the Capitol riot and spread conspiracy theories about the events.

Since January, Ocasio-Cortez has repeatedly said that she and some of her Democratic colleagues don't feel safe around certain Republican members, including those who've voiced support for dangerous conspiracy theories like QAnon and lied about the outcome of the 2020 election.

Other lawmakers, including Republican Rep. Liz Cheney, have suggested that Republican members of Congress were implicated in the deadly Capitol attack. Cheney was one of just two House Republicans to vote for the select committee on Wednesday.

Cheney, who was ousted from GOP leadership for repeatedly blaming Trump for the riot, has said that members of her party are worried about found guilty of encouraging or otherwise being involved with the attack.

"There is real concern among a number of members of my own party about a January 6 commission," Cheney said. "That kind of intense, narrow focus threatens people in my party who may have been playing a role they should not have been playing."

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