A Democratic congresswoman says she witnessed members of Congress leading groups of visitors through the Capitol the day before a pro-Trump mob stormed the building.

Rep. Mikie Sherrill of New Jersey described what she saw as “a reconnaissance for the next day.”

Sherrill made the comments in a Facebook Live video Tuesday night as she explained her votes supporting a resolution urging Vice President Mike Pence and President Donald Trump’s Cabinet to invoke the 25th Amendment to remove the president and Trump’s impeachment for inciting an insurrection.

She did not provide any details in the video about the groups she saw in the Capitol before the siege. Spectrum News has reached out to Sherrill’s office seeking more information.

The Capitol has been closed to visitor tours since March due to the coronavirus pandemic.

On Jan. 6, a crowd loyal to Trump breached the Capitol as Congress convened to vote on certifying President-elect Joe Biden’s win in the Electoral College. The rioting began just after Trump addressed the crowd near the White House, repeating false claims about widespread election fraud, urging them to march to the Capitol and saying, “If you don't fight like hell, you're not going to have a country anymore.”

Five people, including a Capitol Police officer, died in or as a result of the rioting. Members of Congress were rushed to secure locations while the mob, with some members armed, roamed the hallways and even made their way onto the Senate floor and inside lawmakers’ offices. 

Sherrill said not only that she believes Trump should be removed from office and barred from running again, but “those people who were complicit with this president, who aided and abetted him in his drive to overturn the election results, the results that the people had voted on" should also be held accountable.

“We can’t have a democracy if we have a president who incites violence to overturn the results,” she said. “We can’t have a democracy if too many members of our police force and military are acting to overturn it and undermine it. We can’t have a democracy if members of Congress are actively helping the president overturn the election results. 

“And so not only do I intend to see that the president is removed and never runs for office again and doesn’t have access to classified material, I also intend to see that those members of Congress who abetted him, those members of Congress who had groups coming through the Capitol that I saw on Jan. 5 — a reconnaissance for the next day — those members of Congress that incited this violent crowd, those members of Congress that attempted to help our president undermine our democracy, I’m going to see that they are held accountable and, if necessary, ensure that they don’t serve in Congress.”

Nearly 150 Republican members of Congress voted to object to Biden’s win, including Sens. Ted Cruz of Texas and Josh Hawley of Missouri and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy of California.