Jan 6 Riots: Here is the progress in the largest investigation by US Department of Justice

largest investigation in Justice Department’s history keeps growing two years after a violent mob of supporters of n-President Donald Trump attacked U.S. Capitol and challenged foundations of American democracy.

More than 930 people have been charged with federal crimes related to siege on Jan. 6, 2021, and tally increases by week. Hundreds more people remain at large on second anniversary of unprecedented assault that was fueled by lies that 2020 election was stolen, reported AP.

A surplus of self-incriminating videos and social media posts has me it difficult for riot suspects to present viable defences. Federal prosecutors have a near-perfect trial record, securing a conviction in all but one case.

cases have clogged Washington’s federal court, a building less than a mile from Capitol. Virtually every weekday, judges are sentencing rioters or accepting ir guilty pleas while carving out room on ir dockets for trials. Alrey scheduled for this year are trials for about 140 riot defendants.

At least 538 cases, more than half of those brought so far, have been resolved through guilty pleas, trials, dismissals or defendant’s death, according to an Associated Press review of court records. That leaves approximately 400 unresolved cases at outset of 2023.

While a House committee has wrapped up its investigation of riot, Justice Department’s work appears to be far from done. A special counsel is overseeing two federal investigations involving Trump: one into retention of classified documents at former president’s Florida estate and a second into efforts to overturn 2020 election.

January 6 attack as an “assault on our democracy,” Attorney General Merrick Garland said.

“And we remain committed to doing everything in our power to prevent this from ever happening again,” he said in a statement Wednesday.

How many people have been charged?

number of defendants charged with Jan. 6-related federal crimes is approaching 1,000. y range from misdemeanour charges against people who entered Capitol but did not engage in any violence to seditious conspiracy charges against members of Oath Keepers and Proud Boys extremist groups accused of violently plotting to stop transfer of presidential power, reported AP.

More than 100 police officers were injured at Capitol. More than 280 defendants have been charged with assaulting or impeding law enforcement officers on Jan. 6, according to Justice Department. FBI is posting videos and photos of violent, destructive rioters in seeking public’s help in identifying or culprits.

Investigators have used facial recognition software, licence plate reers and or high-tech tools to track down some suspects. Networks of online sleuths have helped FBI identify rioters based on digital clues.

Among those still on lam: person who put two explosives outside offices of Republican and Democratic national committees before riot. FBI, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and Metropolitan Police Department are offering a $500,000 reward for information leing to an arrest and conviction.

Authorities have shared a staggering amount of evidence with defence lawyers — more than nine terabytes of information that would take over 100 days to view. shared files include thousands of hours of surveillance footage from Capitol and hundreds of hours of bodycam videos from police officers who tried to hold off mob.

How many have pleed guilty?

Nearly 500 people have pleed guilty to riot-related charges, typically hoping that cooperating could le to a lighter punishment.

About three-quarters of m pleed guilty to misdemeanours in which maximum sentence was eir six months or one year behind bars. More than 100 of m have pleed guilty to felony charges punishable by longer prison terms, reported AP.

first person to ple guilty to a Jan. 6-related crime was Jon Ryan Schaffer, an Indiana musician who joined Oath Keepers. Schaffer was one of at least eight Oath Keepers who pleed guilty before group’s founder, Stewart Rhodes, and or members went to trial on seditious conspiracy charges.

Justice Department also cut plea deals with several Proud Boys members, securing ir cooperation to build a case against former national leer Enrique Tarrio and or top members of group. A New York man, Matw Greene, was first Proud Boys member to ple guilty to conspiring with ors to stop Congress from certifying Electoral College vote.

How many have gone to trial?

Dozens of riot defendants have elected to let juries or judges decide ir fates. For most part, y haven’t fared well at trial.

Justice Department notched a high-stakes victory in November when a jury convicted Rhodes, Oath Keepers’ founder, and a Florida chapter leer of seditious conspiracy. It was first seditious conspiracy conviction at trial in deces. Jurors acquitted three or Oath Keepers associates of Civil War-era charge, but convicted m of or felony offences, reported AP.

next major milestone is sedition trial of Tarrio and four or members of Proud Boys. Jury selection in trial of far-right extremist group started last month.

In or cases, an Ohio man who stole a coat rack from Capitol testified that he was acting on orders from Trump when he stormed Capitol. A New Jersey man described by prosecutors as a Nazi sympathiser claimed he didn’t know that Congress met at Capitol. A retired New York Police Department officer testified that he was defending himself when he tackled a police officer and grabbed his gas mask outside Capitol.

Those defences fell flat. Jurors unanimously convicted all three men of every charge in ir respective indictments.

Federal juries have convicted at least 22 people of Jan. 6 charges. Judges have convicted an ditional 24 riot defendants after hearing and deciding cases without a jury.

Only one person, New Mexico resident Matw Martin, has been acquitted of all charges after a trial. After hearing testimony without a jury, U.S. District Judge Trevor McFden concluded that it was reasonable for Martin to believe that outnumbered police officers allowed him and ors to enter Capitol through Rotunda doors on Jan. 6.

How many have been sentenced?

At least 362 riot defendants were sentenced by end of 2022. Roughly 200 of m have received terms of imprisonment ranging from seven days to 10 years. Prosecutors h recommended a jail or prison sentence in approximately 300 of those 362 cases.

Retired New York Police Department Officer Thomas Webster has received longest prison sentence. U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta, who sentenced Webster to a dece in prison, also presided over first Oath Keepers sedition trial and will sentence Rhodes and Rhodes’ convicted associates, reported AP.

Webster is one of 34 riot defendants who has received a prison sentence of at least three years. More than half of m, including Webster, assaulted police officers at Capitol.

riot resulted in more than $2.7 million in damage. So far, judges have ordered roughly 350 convicted rioters to collectively pay nearly $280,00 in restitution. More than 100 rioters have been ordered to pay over $241,000 in total fines.

Judges also have ordered dozens of rioters to serve terms of home detention ranging from two weeks to one year — usually inste of jail time — and to collectively perform more than 14,000 hours of community service.

(with AP inputs)