The Washington, DC, Department of Corrections on Thursday locked out multiple members of Congress from reviewing the conditions of the January 6 “political prisoners,” video footage shows.
The video shows Reps. Louie Gohmert (R-TX), Paul Gosar (R-AR), Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA), and Matt Gaetz (R-FL) walking up to the corrections facility and knocking on the large black framed door.
Footage shows what appears to be officers behind the glass door, preventing the members from entering the facility. At first, Gaetz suggested that perhaps the apparent officers wanted the members to be masked. So Gaetz donned his mask:
The door, however, still appeared to be locked, blocking the members from speaking face to face with officers from the facility.
Audio from the video features someone purporting to be an attorney of a prisoner. Still, the video shows the individuals behind the door unwilling to open it before walking away.
Gaetz, after being denied entry, spoke to reporters in front of the facility, saying the members of Congress were present to “just speak with a supervisor… to seek a review” of how the prisoners are being treated.
“This is a rare time under this administration, where the prison is used to lock people out instead of locking people in,” Gohmert said.
Breitbart News reached out to the Washington, DC, Department of Corrections for comment but they did not respond by the time of publication.
The Daily Beast reported that “Many of the accused rioters,” dubbed “political prisoners,” have “been released from jail ahead of trial. But those who remain behind bars” remain a concern over “allegations about their supposed mistreatment.”
“We have concerns about reports of the conditions of the prison where these detainees are being held and whether, in fact, there have been instances of abuse inflicted by other prisoners or guards,” Gaetz, Greene, Paul Gosar, Gohmert wrote in a memo asking for a meeting with Attorney General Merrick Garland.
“He was beaten, he was dragged, he was hog-tied,” a lawyer of one of the prisoners said on Newsmax. “At one time, his pants dropped below his ankles exposing his private parts while he was taking a beating in front of a female officer, and he had to beg and plead to be able to pull his pants up out of embarrassment.”