Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-MS) chairs the committee which is looking into the alleged “insurrection” which took place on that date.

Thompson has been a vocal critic of the January 6 siege at the US Capitol which he has referred to as an “insurrection,” has offered support for the police officers who were injured on that day, and has taken to suing former President Donald Trump whom he accuses of being responsible for that incidents.

All of this flies in the face of Thompson’s own history however, when as an alderman in a small Mississippi town in the early 1970s, he openly supported a secessionist group called the Republic of New Africa (RNA), going as far as to slam law enforcement for prompting conflicts with the group which resulted in the death of a police officer, as well as injuries to an FBI agent.

Counterintelligence memos from the FBI during that period warned that the RNA was openly advocating for “guerilla warfare” against the United States. In fact, as recently as only eight years ago, Thompson campaigned on behalf of the RNA’s former vice president when he was running to be mayor of Jackson, Mississippi’s largest city.