House Democrat Calls for FBI to Take a Peek at Parler

In the days after the January 6th assault on the US Capitol, law enforcement found itself wondering just where it all went wrong.

A largely unarmed mob of angry MAGA supporters were able to overwhelm the Capitol Police force and galavant around the halls of Congress, nearly unmolested by those sworn to protect this citadel of Democracy.

In some cases, the police seemed bemused, or downright helpful to the would-be insurrectionists.  This led to several suspensions and investigations within the force.

The FBI has suggested that the event wasn’t merely a spontaneous, heat-of-the-moment sort of thing.  Rather, they seem to believe that some sort of advanced planning was at work.  At least one Democratic congresswoman seems to agree.

House Oversight Committee Chair Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-NY) is requesting that the FBI probe the social media platform Parler, claiming that it may have played a role in the Capitol Hill riot earlier this month.

Rep. Maloney asked the FBI on Thursday to conduct a “robust examination” of “the role that the social media site Parler played in the assault, including as a potential facilitator of planning and incitement related to the violence” in the January 6 Capitol Hill riot, according to a report by Washington Post.

“In the days and weeks leading up to the siege, press reports detailed the rise of violent threats on Parler against state elected officials for their role in certifying the election results, and later, against Congress and its constitutional role in counting electoral votes,” said Maloney in her request.

And that wasn’t all.

“It is clear that Parler houses additional evidence critical to investigations of the attack on the Capitol. One commentator has already used geolocation data associated with Parler to track 1,200 videos that were uploaded in Washington, D.C.,” Maloney added.

The future of the social media service is unknown at this time, with many US-based web hosting services refusing to do business with the company.