Two Years After January 6, DOJ Prosecutes and FBI Hunts

The United States Capitol was stormed two years ago, but the Department of Justice investigation into the events of that day is anything but a thing of the past. The most contentious phase of its work could just be getting under way, as hundreds of suspects remain at large. To commemorate the 24 months since a speech by President Trump at the Oval preceded the riot at the Capitol, the DOJ released a host of facts and figures that sketch out the scope of its pursuits and the scale of how much lawyering is yet to be done. The snapshot berings into focus what the DOJ called in a court filing “one of the largest” investigations in “American history, both in terms of the number of defendants prosecuted and the nature and volume of the evidence.”The second anniversary comes as the special counsel, John “Jack” Smith, is reportedly back on American shores after a spell recovering from injuries sustained in a bicycle accident. His portfolio includes investigating Mr. Trump’s role in the events of January 6. The congressional January 6 committee, in its waning moments, recommended that Mr. Trump be criminally charged on four counts. These include incitement to insurrection as well as various iterations of obstruction and conspiracy. Mr. Trump aside, the DOJ promises that its “resolve to hold accountable those who committed crimes on January 6, 2021, has not, and will not, wane.” More than 950 defendants have been charged. Of those, nearly half — 484 — have copped to guilty pleas, with 119 of those felonies. Fifty of those charged have been accused of conspiracy, a flexible crime that can come in a variety of permutations. The DOJ has discerned conspiracies intending to disrupt official proceedings, obstruct law enforcement, and injure an officer. Most exotic is seditious conspiracy, known as “treason’s sibling.”The DOJ appears to view the entire Capitol complex as one crime scene, charging 860 defendants with “entering or remaining in a restricted federal building or grounds.” Ninety-one of those trespassers were allegedly carrying a deadly weapon. As in the criminal justice system more broadly, the majority of cases have been resolved via guilty pleas rather than trial. Forty defendants have proceeded to contested trials, with the highest profile being that of the Oath Keeper leader, Elmer Stewart Rhodes III, convicted of seditious conspiracy. Four other persons have pleaded guilty to the same crime.Amid the blizzard of guilty pleas and convictions, the DOJ acknowledges that hundreds of suspects are at large. The FBI calls for the “public’s help” in identifying approximately 350 persons believed to have “committed violent acts.” More than 250 of those at large are believed to have “assaulted police officers.”Some of the wanted have been captured in surveillance footage, and two have been named; Evan Neumann and Jonathan Pollock. Other suspects are referred to with the acronym “AFO,” meaning “assault on federal officer.” Those with information are urged to call 1-800-CALL-FBI or submit a tip at tips.fbi.gov.

Two Years After January 6, DOJ Prosecutes and FBI Hunts

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