House Republicans are intensifying efforts to form a select committee aimed at investigating far-left agitator groups following the assassination of Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk in Utah on Sept. 10.
The push is led by Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX), joined by dozens of lawmakers, who signed a letter calling for the committee just one day after Kirk’s murder.
The letter cited several past attacks as justification for the move, including the 2012 shooting at the Family Research Council, violent riots carried out by Antifa groups and the 2017 congressional baseball practice shooting that injured multiple Republican lawmakers.
The lawmakers’ letter explained that the committee would have subpoena power to probe “the money, influence, and power behind the radical left’s assault on America and the rule of law.”
Members of Congress have argued that criminal penalties could be imposed on those who refuse to provide testimony or records, which would give the committee sweeping investigative authority.
Conservative experts told the Daily Caller that the committee could play a pivotal role in spotlighting networks accused of fueling violence.
They said the influence of powerful organizations has often gone unexamined.
Scott Walter, president of the Capital Research Center, said leftist movements are structured in ways that allow them to replenish quickly.
“If everybody in Seattle’s Antifa groups disappeared this afternoon or was, you know, locked up into jail this afternoon, there would be more foot soldiers [coming] to Seattle,” Walter said.
He explained that the most radical factions often splinter off from larger, loosely organized groups.
Chad Banghart, president of the New Tolerance Campaign, emphasized the importance of the panel’s mission.
“If this committee does its job, it won’t just restore faith in government, it will finally shine light on the forces driving political extremism that have been ignored for far too long,” Banghart told the Caller.
Rep. Roy said the committee would examine nonprofits and justice officials connected to left-wing billionaire George Soros.
“There’s a very concerted, organized effort on the left that is very apparent, and we bore the brunt of it in Texas with open borders with dollars that were flowing very specifically and clearly through [non-governmental organizations] to move people into our country who were dangerous and who harm Texans,” Roy told reporters.
He added that Soros-backed district attorneys were influencing sentencing policies.
“They’re literally telling them what to do and how to issue … light sentences and put people back on the streets,” Roy said.
The letter Roy co-authored also stated that members of Congress with law enforcement backgrounds should lead the committee.
“What I’m saying is the American people need to know the organization of the left,” Roy said.
Experts explained that one of the committee’s top tasks should be investigating fiscal sponsorship arrangements.
Under this framework, tax-exempt organizations can financially support smaller groups that do not need to disclose their finances publicly, shielding their operations from scrutiny.
Experts also cautioned Republicans against repeating what they described as flaws of the House Select Committee on January 6, which Democrats controlled under then-Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
With the exception of two Republicans who opposed Trump, GOP lawmakers were excluded from that panel.
“This time must be different,” Banghart said.
“This committee must be bipartisan and actually work to expose the radical networks and money fueling America’s intolerant left.”
