Capitol riots investigation: DOJ expects at least 100 more to be charged



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The Justice Department expects to indict at least 100 more people in connection with the Jan.6 riot on Capitol Hill that left five people dead, court documents show.

Federal prosecutors are asking for 60 days in riot-related cases due to a large influx of defendants and evidence uncovered in the months following the attack, according to court documents filed in court on Friday Federal District of Washington, DC.

“The investigation is continuing and the government expects at least 100 more individuals to be charged,” prosecutors wrote in the file, citing a Justice Department investigation. “While most of the cases have been brought against individual defendants, the government is also investigating conspiracy activity that took place before and on January 6, 2021.”

More than 300 people were arrested in connection with the attack, which lawyers called “possibly the most complex investigation ever carried out” by the Justice Department.

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Charges include trespassing, violent or disruptive behavior on Capitol grounds, destruction or theft of government property, assaults on federal and local law enforcement officers, firearms offenses, civil unrest, obstruction of formal process, use of destructive devices and conspiracy.

More than 900 search warrants have been executed in almost all 50 states, and the evidence compiled to date includes more than 15,000 hours of surveillance or video footage, 1,600 electronic devices, 210,000 advice and 80,000 interviews with police officers. witnesses.

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“Failure to grant such a continuation in this proceeding would likely make the continuation of this proceeding impossible, or result in a miscarriage of justice,” US District Judge Amit Mehta wrote of prosecutors’ request to delay the proceedings.

Capitol police in riot gear push back protesters who try to break down a door on the U.S. Capitol, Wednesday, Jan.6, 2021, in Washington.  (AP Photo / Jose Luis Magana)

Capitol police in riot gear push back protesters who try to break down a door on the U.S. Capitol, Wednesday, Jan.6, 2021, in Washington. (AP Photo / Jose Luis Magana)

One such complex case involves nine defendants charged with riot-related offenses, including Thomas Caldwell, Donovan Crowl, Jessica Watkins, Sandra Parker, Bennie Parker, Graydon Young, Laura Steele, Kelly Meggs and Connie Meggs.

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Authorities say they were part of a far-right militia group called the Oath Keepers and accuse Caldwell of being a leader of the group.

Caldwell worked as a section chief for the FBI from 2009 to 2010 after retiring from the Navy and having obtained a top-secret security clearance since 1979.

A prosecutor said in a hearing Thursday that the case could expand to 15 or more defendants, according to Politico.

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“The government anticipates that additional defendants will be added to the conspiracy at some point,” said Deputy US Attorney Jeffrey Nestler.

The FBI described the Oath Keepers in a criminal complaint as “a large but loosely organized group of militias who believe the federal government has been co-opted by a dark plot that attempts to deprive American citizens of their rights.”

The FBI said the group was explicitly trying to recruit former law enforcement officers, the military and first responders.

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