FBI still after 'worst of the worst' in Capitol riot as new arrests come at steady pace
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
Four months after the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol, FBI agents maintain a steady pace of arresting people accused of taking part, as one of the largest criminal investigations in American history keeps growing.
"We're not done rounding up the worst of the worst," said one law enforcement official. "We're not slowing down."
More than 440 people have been charged with taking part in the Capitol siege, coming from all but six states — Mississippi, North and South Dakota, Rhode Island, Vermont and Wyoming. The largest number come from Texas, Pennsylvania, and Florida, in that order.
Men outnumber women among those arrested by 7 to 1, with an average age of 39, according to figures compiled by the Program on Extremism at George Washington University in Washington, D.C. A total of 44 are military veterans.
More than 60 of those arrested so far face some of the most serious charges, of assaulting officers with the U.S. Capitol Police and Washington's Metropolitan Police departments. Officials said 140 officers were injured during the riot.
The pace of arrests has remain steady, as the FBI sorts through hundreds of thousands of public tips. In nearly 90 percent of the cases, charges have been based at least in part on a person's own social media accounts.
A New York man, Robert Chapman, bragged on the dating app Bumble that he'd been in the Capitol during the riot. The person he was seeking to date responded, "We are not a match," and notified the FBI.
The FBI said Reed Christensen of Oregon, accused of assaulting officers on the Capitol's lower west terrace, was identified with the help of his son.
Investigators have also used facial recognition software, comparing images from surveillance cameras and an outpouring of social media and news agency videos against photo databases of the FBI and at least one other federal agency, Customs and Border Protection, according to court documents.
They have also subpoenaed records from companies providing cellphone service, allowing agents to tell whether a specific person's phone was inside the Capitol during the siege.
With at least 500 cases expected to be filed, all in a single federal court in Washington, prosecutors will likely be seeking to reach plea agreements, in hopes of reducing the number of cases going to a full trial.
An Indiana man accused of being a founding member of the far-right group the Oath Keepers, Jon Schaffer, pleaded guilty to entering the Capitol while wearing a tactical vest and armed with bear spray. He agreed to cooperate with investigators.
Prosecutors said during court hearings this week that they will soon offer plea deals to four men accused of assaulting police officers. One of them, Patrick McCaughey, was accused of using a police riot shield to push against Capitol Police Officer Daniel Hodges and to pin him between the shield and a door at the building's Lower West Terrace.
Video shows officer being crushed by violent pro-Trump mob in deadly Capitol riot
In a widely seen video, Hodges appears to cry out in pain. But during this week's court hearing in Washington, U.S. District Judge Trevor McFadden said prosecutors have not alleged that Hodges was injured. The judge said defense lawyers cited an interview in which Hodges said he was screaming to signal other officers that he was trapped.
"It looks to me like the defendant was trying to push his way through the officers with other rioters to enter the Capitol, rather than that he was trying to hurt or attack the officers," the judge said.
In another hearing, government lawyers said they have started plea discussions with Kevin Seefried of Delaware, who was photographed inside the Capitol holding a Confederate flag, and his son, Hunter.
The FBI has posted 353 images on its website, seeking public help in identifying people at the Capitol on Jan. 6, with a priority of finding those who attacked police officers.
Clockwise from upper left, individuals #123, #134, #300A and #106 are being sought by the FBI in connection with the riot at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6.FBI
Image 123 shows a person suspected of trying to rip the face mask from Hodges. Images 106 and 134 involve attacks on two D.C. police officers who were dragged down Capitol steps. One of them was struck with a pole.
And image 300 shows a person who appeared to throw a two-by-four piece of wood through a Capitol window.
FBI officials in Washington are still seeking public help in identifying the person who planted two pipe bombs at the separate headquarters of the Republican and Democrat national parties. The devices were placed the night before the riot.
They did not explode, but investigators say they were fully capable of causing extensive damage.
CORRECTION (May 6, 2021, 4:41 p.m. ET): A previous version of this article misstated the number of states that had not yet had a resident charged with taking part in the Jan. 6 Capitol riot. People from all but six states have been charged, not five.
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those domestic terrorists had better do some serious time, although getting doxed and then having to fend for themselves out in the open would be almost as hilarious as their family and friends that turned them in.
Meanwhile, most sane Americans have given a collective yawn about this historic event and moved on with their lives. The Democrats, on the other hand, continue to attempt to divide the country on this and other issues.
Greg, put the shoe on the other foot if this would have been Hildabeast or Obama you republicans would have about the same shit fit and I seriously doubt many of the republican party would be real anxious to forget it either. .
Next time it could be.
Benghazi benghazi benghazi lock her up lock her up lock her up
How long did the republican party beat those drums !
So Sad that America is so divided.
IMO: All of us and our government as very fortunate that trump and his followers failed at disrupting our federal government to the point that trump could declare martial law and hold power.
Or haven't you republicans figured out that was the only way trump could have held power at that point ?
I'd say trump understood it.
Fortunately trump's followers weren't as violent or persistent as trump planned on them being, or he could have shortly declared martial law and brought in the military to back him and his followers.
Fuck trump and his "Patriots" IMO: They all should do time.
And trump should never be allowed to hold another public office. period !
Would hillary or Obama have been treated any better ?
NO
So much for the Party of Law and Order and the Support for Law Enforcement?
Hey Greg, what happened to the party of Law and Order and support the Blue?
Here is a letter from an LEO that was actually there and almost lost his life to the scum in the insurrection. You might want to read it since it isn't from someone sitting behind their computer spouting BS.
Thousands of police were injured in the riots last summer. Why are they forgotten by the politicians who marched in those protests?
Stick to whatever little slogan keeps you from having to think critically. I'm just pointing out the hypocrisy to those readers who believe in arguments from principle, not partisan convenience.
The article and my comment are about the insurrection at our capital. Your usual squirrel routine is noted.
If your question is important to you post an article on it and I'm sure that you'll have a lot of comments on it.
name which of those riots were happening at the same location a joint session of congress was being held to perform a constitutional mandated certification of a national election.
Democrats are turning this into a reprise of Bill Clinton's AG Janet Reno and the Branch Davidians.
453 have been charged so far. I doubt that they, their families and friends have given a collective yawn. Same with the 140 injured capitol police, their families and friends. Ditto the 112 lawmakers that had to be evacuated.
Most "sane" Americans are still flabbergasted that this could occur.
Track down every damn one of the traitorous bastards and punish them to the full extent of the law.
Every one of those POS is a traitor to our country.
trump should be easy to find.
Too bad we can't exile them to some remote island in the Aleutians
Can we just ship them to Mar-a-Lago and lock them in?
When are we going to start seeing convictions and prison time for Trump and his seditious traitors? After four months why is this still dragging on?
Here is a list of each individual case -
Hitler was sentenced to five years after the Beer Hall Putsch. He actually served less than one.
It's great to see law enforcement going after the seditionists... but I won't be truly convinced until they have served serious time.
It's not that big a fuckin' deal to most rational and unbiased American citizens.
It was meant to be a peaceful protest that was taken over by a handful of radical right wingers. Nothing more, nothing less. It certainly was not seditious or treason....inflammatory words the left likes to toss around.
In the meantime, the hypocritical left-wingers conveniently ignore the violent protests of Antifa and BLM.
Most won't serve serious time.
My gut feeling is the "worst of the worst" were not even there , and are not even on the radar yet.
What we ARE seeing is the "low hanging fruit " and "useful idiots" being round up.
I wonder what the republicans would think IF trump's inserection would have been bad and long enough for trump to legally declare Martial Law and send in our military ?
................................
What is ‘martial law’
In short, martial law can be imposed when civil rule fails , temporarily being replaced with military authority in a time of crisis. Though rare, there have been a number of notable U.S. cases where martial law came into play, including in times of war, natural disaster and civic dispute — of which there has been no shortage in 2020.
While no precise definition of martial law exists, a precedent for it exists wherein, “certain civil liberties may be suspended, such as the right to be free from unreasonable searches and seizures, freedom of association, and freedom of movement. And the writ of habeas corpus [the right to a trial before imprisonment] may be suspended," according to documents from JRANK, an online legal encyclopedia .
Martial law may be declared by both the president and by Congress. State officials may also declare martial law, according to the Brennan Center for Justice , however, “their actions under the declaration must abide by the U.S. Constitution and are subject to review in federal court.”
My understanding is martial law would have only applied to the area affected (DC) where LEO could not handle the situation ,. and once control was returned the outcome would have been the same , and Biden would have been the certified winner anyway In the senate.
Or are you thinking that martial law would have been declared nation wide? because legally that wouldnt have happened . For martial law to be declare there are some conditions that would have needed to be met , and they were not met nationally.
a republican president tried that once already and the courts handed him his ass.
Then what trump did was totally asinine.
WTF did he hope to accomplish ?
Postpone a few days till the certification ?
Insane !! And people died !!
All so damn sad.
asking the wrong person to decide what these morons were thinking .
It won't let me vote either.
If you're addressing me... you apparently have never joined The Beacon. It's an open group, so you should be able to join simply by making a Comment.