Sen. Roger Marshall (R-Kan.) gave truckers in the so-called “People’s Convoy” a tour of the Capitol last week — even as the building remains mostly closed to the public.

A senior congressional aide alerted the Department of Justice about the truckers’ presence out of concern that the guided tour could help the protesters plan an entry into the building.

Capitol Hill police have been preparing for weeks for the truckers to descend on the Capitol as the final destination of their cross-country journey that started in Southern California. In the lead-up to President Joe Biden’s March State of the Union address, Capitol Hill police issued a statement announcing they were erecting an inner-perimeter fence to protect the building.

At the time, the National Guard said it was prepared to deploy 700 members to assist the police. But the truckers did not end up protesting that night. The fence has since been taken down, though some barricades remain in place.

The Capitol has been closed to public tours since the outbreak of Covid in the spring of 2020. Since this past December, the Senate has been allowed to give small public tours in a limited area on the Senate side, with a limit of two tours per week.

Marshall’s office said the trucker tour complied with that exception.

A Capitol Police spokesperson said this week that the department is working to come up with a “safe plan” to reopen the building as soon as possible. The force has lost more than 100 officers since the Jan. 6 attack.

“Hard-working Kansans — especially those who have driven over 1,000 miles to get to D.C. — deserve access to their U.S. Capitol,” Marshall’s office wrote in a statement responding to questions about his Thursday tour. The statement added that Marshall supports immediately reopening the Capitol to members of the public.

The trucker convoy has been protesting government-mandated Covid restrictions. By a 48-47 vote, the Senate this month approved legislation sponsored by Marshall to end a Covid-inspired national state of emergency.

The trucker protests come amid heightened concerns about the safety of the Capitol after the Jan. 6, 2021 riot.

The senior congressional aide said he overheard a Capitol Hill police officer complain about the truckers being allowed in the Capitol. He said he reported the tour to the Justice Department.

A spokesperson for the Capitol Hill police declined to comment.

While the trucks with the convoy have been mainly circling the Beltway to disrupt traffic, on Monday they drove through parts of downtown Washington. The National Park Service partially denied their request to hold a two-week rally on the National Mall.

“Today we’re getting right next to their walls,” said Mike Landis, a People’s Convoy co-organizer, per the Washington Post. “We’re not going to go in and throat-punch them just yet, even though I know we would all love to do that.”

Participants in the convoy have met with several members of Congress this month, including Sens. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), and threatened to keep circling the Beltway until their demands to drop Covid restrictions are met. Johnson’s office said it did not offer tours to participants. A Cruz spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment.

Kyle Cheney and Nicholas Wu contributed to this report. 

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