The District of Columbia’s top federal prosecutor revealed Thursday (Jan. 7) that 55 cases have been filed in the past 36 hours, most of them related to the break-in at the U.S. Capitol during this week’s protests in Washington.
Acting District of Columbia U.S. Attorney Michael Sherwin said 40 of those cases have been filed in District of Columbia Superior Court, including eight involving firearms.
In addition, Sherwin told reporters that prosecutors plan to file 15 criminal charges in federal court on Jan. 7, including unauthorized entry into the Capitol and Capitol grounds, possession of a firearm and theft of property, among other charges.
On Jan. 6, protesters stormed the Capitol, interrupting a joint session of both chambers of Congress to count electoral votes.
Sherwin said a man was arrested by federal agents “with a military semi-automatic rifle and 11 Molotov cocktails ready to be fired.”
He said, “We will aggressively prosecute these cases, and this is just the beginning. We are working closely with counterterrorism prosecutors and other federal partners.”
Federal prosecutors have filed criminal charges in only about 174 cases in Washington during the months-long protests sparked by the death of George Floyd in 2020. By comparison, 55 cases were prosecuted within 36 hours of the Capitol breach.
In response, Sherwin told reporters, “I just wanted to give you a comparison to show how aggressive and serious we are about what happened yesterday.”
Rep. Matt Gaetz, a Florida Republican, said on the House floor Jan. 7 that some of the protesters who broke into the Capitol were “members of the violent terrorist group Antifa” who were “disguised as Trump supporters. “
In response to a question about the organization to which the protesters who stormed the Capitol belonged, Sherwin said they are still looking for evidence of organized command and control.
“It looks like there may have been some loose connections, but it doesn’t look like any particular ‘militia group’ orchestrated or affiliated with the ones we’re specifically accusing,” he said. “This is only the first 24 hours of the investigation. So a lot could happen in the next few days.”
In response to a question about whether Capitol Police officers violated their duties, Sherwin said federal prosecutors “are investigating all of the people involved.” At the time of the incident, Capitol police opened a barricade for the protesters and allowed them to enter the Capitol.
He said they will also be watching for statements from President Donald Trump and rally speakers.
We are investigating all of the participants, and anyone involved,” he said. If the evidence meets the elements of a crime, they will be prosecuted.”
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