Guest Post by Sharyl Attkisson

Two years after the January 6 pro-Trump rally and Capitol riots, the Dept. of Justice has charged nearly 1,000 people with crimes.

However, nobody has been formally accused of “sedition,” “treason,” or “insurrection,” according to officials.

Sedition is defined as: Conduct or speech inciting people to rebel against the authority of a state or monarch.

Insurrection is defined as: A violent uprising against a government or authority.

Treason is defined as: Betrayal of one’s own country by attempting to overthrow the government through waging war against the state or materially aiding its enemies.

The closest related charge made is “seditious conspiracy,” which is planning or plotting with at least one other person to incite rebellion against the authority; not necessarily, personally, committing an act of sedition. Several suspects pleaded guilty to seditious conspiracy. At least one of them, a member of the “Oath Keepers” group, was not present at the US Capitol on January 6.

To date, it is inaccurate and arguably libelous to refer to January 6 defendants as “insurrectionists.”

Most of the defendants, approximately 860, are charged with entering or remaining in a restricted federal building or grounds.

Typically, when Congress is conducting business on the House or Senate floor, the public has a right to enter the US Capitol and watch the proceedings. However, members of the public were blocked from attending on January 6, and there would not have been space for the many thousands to observe in the normal gallery seats.

So far, the Dept. of Justice reports, about 192 people have been sentenced to jail or prison.

Officials say 52 people have pleaded guilty to federal charges of assaulting law enforcement officers.

The only person shot at the US Capitol on January 6 was an unarmed protester named Ashli Babbitt. The US Capitol Police officer who killed her, Lt. Michael Byrd, was not charged with a crime.

Officials kept his identity secret for weeks while they investigated the shooting. Prosecutors eventually found there was no evidence proving that Byrd did not fear that Babbitt could kill him. A shooting by an officer in fear of his life is typically considered to be justified. In an interview, Byrd claimed he’d “saved countless lives” by killing Babbitt, even though Babbitt was unarmed, and there was no evidence she attacked or intended to attack anyone.

Originally, the New York Times and many political and media figures claimed that another police officer, Brian Sicknick, died after protesters hit him with a fire extinguisher. However, the Times and other media reported the story absent any evidence, and the medical examiner later ruled that Sicknick died of natural causes. The medical examiner’s findings were kept secret for several months.

The FBI is still on the hunt for more January 6 suspects.

FBI Special Agent Stephen Friend told Full Measure that he was suspended after objecting to the agency’s heavy-handed tactics in using SWAT-style raids to arrest non-violent January 6 suspects.

Watch Full Measure on Sunday, January 8 for a report on January 6: two years later.

For images and videos of the attackers, click here.

Read the Dept. of Justice statistical update below.

24 Months Since the January 6 Attack on the Capitol

Friday, January 6, 2023, will mark 24 months since the attack on the U.S. Capitol that disrupted a joint session of the U.S. Congress in the process of affirming the presidential election results. The government continues to investigate losses that resulted from the breach of the Capitol, including damage to the Capitol building and grounds, both inside and outside the building. The approximate losses suffered as a result of the siege at the Capitol totaled $2,734,783.  That amount reflects, among other things, damage to the Capitol building and grounds and certain costs borne by the U.S. Capitol Police.

Under the continued leadership of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia and the FBI’s Washington Field Office, the investigation and prosecution of those responsible for the attack continues to move forward at an unprecedented speed and scale. The Department of Justice’s resolve to hold accountable those who committed crimes on January 6, 2021, has not, and will not, wane.

Based on the public court documents, below is a snapshot of the investigation as of the close of business Tuesday, January 3, 2023. Complete versions of most of the public court documents used to compile these statistics are available on the Capitol Breach Investigation Resource Page at https://www.justice.gov/usao-dc/capitol-breach-cases.

Arrests made: More than 950 defendants have been arrested in nearly all 50 states and the District of Columbia. (This includes those charged in both District and Superior Court).

Criminal charges:

• More than 284 defendants have been charged with assaulting, resisting, or impeding officers or employees, including approximately 99 individualswho have been charged with using a deadly or dangerous weapon or causing serious bodily injury to an officer.
  • Approximately 140 police officers were assaulted January 6 at the Capitol, including about 80 from the U.S. Capitol Police and about 60 from the Metropolitan Police Department.
• Approximately 11 individuals have been arrested on a series of charges that relate to assaulting a member of the media, or destroying their equipment, on January 6.
• Approximately 860 defendants have been charged with entering or remaining in a restricted federal building or grounds. Of those, 91 defendants have been charged with entering a restricted area with a dangerous or deadly weapon.
• Approximately 59 defendants have been charged with destruction of government property, and approximately 36 defendants have been charged with theft of government property.
• More than 295 defendants have been charged with corruptly obstructing, influencing, or impeding an official proceeding, or attempting to do so.
• Approximately 50 defendants have been charged with conspiracy, either: (a) conspiracy to obstruct a congressional proceeding, (b) conspiracy to obstruct law enforcement during a civil disorder, (c) conspiracy to injure an officer, (d) seditious conspiracy, or some combination of the four.

Pleas:

• Approximately 484 individuals have pleaded guilty to a variety of federal charges, many of whom faced or will face incarceration at sentencing.
  • Approximately 119 have pleaded guilty to felonies. Another 364 have pleaded guilty to misdemeanors.
  • A total of 52 of those who have pleaded guilty to felonies have pleaded to federal charges of assaulting law enforcement officers. An additional 22 individuals have pleaded guilty to felony obstruction of law enforcement during a civil disorder. Of these 74 defendants, 41have now been sentenced to prison terms of up to 90 months.
  • Four of those who have pleaded guilty to felonies have pleaded guilty to the federal charge of seditious conspiracy.

Trials:

• 40 individuals have been found guilty at contested trials, including 3 who were found guilty in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia. Another 10 individuals have been convicted following an agreed-upon set of facts. 16 of these 50 defendants were found guilty of assaulting, resisting, or impeding officers, a felony, including one who has been sentenced to 10 years in prison.

Sentencings:

• Approximately 351 federal defendants have had their cases adjudicated and received sentences for their criminal activity on January 6. Approximately 192 have been sentenced to periods of incarceration. Approximately 87 defendants have been sentenced to a period of home detention, including approximately 14 who also were sentenced to a period of incarceration.

Public Assistance:

• Citizens from around the country have provided invaluable assistance in identifying individuals in connection with the January 6 attack. The FBI continues to seek the public’s help in identifying approximately 350 individuals believed to have committed violent acts on the Capitol grounds, including over 250 who assaulted police officers.
• Additionally, the FBI currently has 14 videos of suspects wanted for violent assaults on federal officers and one video of two suspects wanted for assaults on members of the media on January 6^th and is seeking the public’s help to identify them.
• Some of the violent offenders about whom the FBI is seeking public tips to identify or locate include Evan Neumann, Jonathan Daniel Pollock,  AFOs #91, #292, #371, and #383. AFO #91 uses what appears to be a stick to strike multiple officers numerous times while in the doorway of the Lower West Terrace, commonly referred to as the tunnel. AFOs #292, #371, and #383 are all shown on video charging at and assaulting officers, and they appear to grab and attempt to take possession of the officers’ batons.
• For images and video of the attackers, please visit https://www.fbi.gov/wanted/capitol-violence. Anyone with tips can call 1-800-CALL-FBI (800-225-5324) or visit tips.fbi.gov.

Earlier Statistical Updates: 

• Six-Month Update

https://www.justice.gov/usao-dc/six-months-january-6th-attack-capitol

• 12-Month Update

https://www.justice.gov/usao-dc/one-year-jan-6-attack-capitol

• 18-Month Update

https://www.justice.gov/usao-dc/18-month-jan-6-attack-capitol

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