The Jan. 6 select committee has subpoenaed phone records connected to an employee of Alex Jones, the second time in recent weeks the panel has homed in on a Jones associate as it seeks to pinpoint the pro-Trump broadcaster’s role preceding the Capitol attack.
Court documents filed Sunday evening reveal the panel has subpoenaed records for Annette Shroyer, the mother of Jones employee Owen Shroyer, who was charged last year for his participation in the Jan. 6 breach of Capitol grounds. Annette Shroyer is asking a judge to let her join Jones’ pending lawsuit against the Jan. 6 select committee, claiming the subpoena is an abuse of the committee’s power.
According to a copy of the subpoena filed with the court, Annette Shroyer received notice of the subpoena on Feb. 10, and Verizon indicated it would provide her records to the select committee unless she filed suit by Feb. 28.
It’s unclear if the select committee has also sought Owen Shroyer’s phone records, or if the subpoena for his mother’s records is an indication that Owen Shroyer remains on a family plan — a scenario that has led to other witness’ family members receiving subpoenas. The select committee declined to comment on the subpoena or Annette Shroyer’s effort to join Jones’ suit.
In the court filing, Jones’ attorney Norman Pattis indicates that Owen Shroyer “will properly assert the Fifth Amendment” against attempts by the Select Committee to obtain his records.
Jones’ role in Jan. 6 events remains somewhat opaque.
He has claimed to be involved in fundraising for Donald Trump’s rally on the Ellipse, which preceded the Capitol attack. He also led thousands of Trump allies in a march down Pennsylvania Avenue to the Capitol. Although he’s later seen on video, with Owen Shroyer at his side, urging Trump allies to avoid confrontations with police, Justice Department prosecutors have faulted Jones’ entourage for refusing to leave Capitol grounds even after a police officer appeared to direct them away from the building.
Jones has already pleaded the Fifth during his own appearance before the select committee and refused to produce documents, citing multiple constitutional protections. And he sued in December to prevent the panel from obtaining his phone records from Verizon.
Owen Shroyer is one of the few people connected to Jones and other top Trump allies who is facing criminal charges for breaching Capitol grounds. Prosecutors charged Shroyer with a misdemeanor for crossing police lines amid the attack and egging on the crowd at the foot of the Capitol. Shroyer was charged, in part, because he had previously signed an agreement to refrain from protest activity on Capitol grounds after he disrupted a Trump impeachment hearing in late 2019.
Earlier this month, a Jones security guard, Tim Enlow, joined Jones’ suit against the select committee, claiming that a subpoena for his phone records was a backdoor attempt to glean more information about Jones. The case is pending before U.S. District Court Judge Christopher Cooper, an Obama nominee confirmed in 2014.
