By Steve Neavling
The Justice Department anticipates charging more than 500 people in connection with the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol, making it one of the largest investigations in American history, according to a recent court filing.
“Over 400 individuals have been charged in connection with the Capitol attack,” federal prosecutors said in a court filing last week, Reuters reports. “The investigation continues and the government expects that at least one hundred additional individuals will be charged.”
The disclosure comes as the Justice Department asks judges to postpone deadlines for future prosecutions.
“The investigation and prosecution of the Capitol attack will likely be one of the largest in American history, both in terms of the number of defendants prosecuted and the nature and volume of the evidence,” the court filings stated.
The riot led to the deaths of five people, including Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick, and more than 130 officers were injured.
U.S. Magistrate Judge G. Michael Harvey called the siege an act of terrorism in a case involving Charles Donohue, a leader of the Proud Boys extremists group.
“The acts alleged in the indictment would meet, in my view, the statutory definition of a federal crime of terrorism,” Harvey said.
Of those arrested so far, more than 40 are members or associates of right-wing extremists groups like the Oath Keepers and Proud Boys.
