Julie Kelly, a senior writer at American Greatness and self-described “Jan. 6 truth seeker,” was a witness selected by Republicans on Friday at a House Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security hearing that sought to examine the First Step Act, prison responses to the coronavirus pandemic, and “compassionate release.”
Kelly has written and reported broadly about poor D.C. jail conditions for those arrested in connection with the Capitol riot on Jan. 6. She wrote a book about what she says is a politically motivated “war on terror against the political right.”
WATCH: THE AG'S RAN ON "GETTING" TRUMP
“When you meet the federal guidelines for pretrial release, it is not compassionate, it is not due process, it is not fair or equitable to be confined in a prison in a jail with the conditions that ... many of these Jan. 6 defendants await the outcomes of their cases,” subcommittee ranking member Rep. Andy Biggs of Arizona said in the hearing. He has requested that Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler hold a hearing about the treatment of Jan. 6 defendants in the D.C. jail.
WATCH: THE TIMING OF TRUMP'S TRIAL, WHY NOW?
While the vast majority of the hundreds detained in connection with the Jan. 6 riot were not held in pretrial arrest, there are around 40 or so who are still in the D.C. jail, some of whom have been ruled to be dangers to the community.
“What we really have is a political prison in the United States,” Kelly said. She talked about jail officials who were kept in contempt of court for improperly hindering medical treatment for a Jan. 6 prisoner and a lack of access to personal hygiene services. Kelly said some of the defendants have not been charged with any violent crime and that the jail is under 22-hour lockdown due to COVID-19. The defendants have no way to get surveillance footage of the Capitol, she said and noted that one judge slammed the D.C. jail for keeping evidence.
SECURITY IN OVERDRIVE: HOME DEPOT'S UNCONVENTIONAL RESPONSE TO NEW YORK'S CRIME CRISIS
Rep. Jim Jordan, the ranking member of the Judiciary Committee, cited Kelly’s reporting in talking to Jan. 6 inmates that “the conditions under which they were being held that seem to reflect the attitude” that the jail warden, who was held in contempt of court, conveyed in social media posts a dislike for the former president.
THREAT OR PROMISE? DEMOCRATIC HOPEFUL'S CONTROVERSIAL MESSAGE: "DIE MAGA DIE"
Republican Rep. Greg Stube of Florida said some of those arrested were examined about their political beliefs and asked Kelly to talk about the role political motivations played in their treatment.
Discover alternative ideas that will make you think
Engage in mind bending debate
Earn points, rise in rank, have fun
