45 Months Since the Jan. 6 Attack on U.S. Capitol

          Sunday, October 6, 2024, marked 45 months since the attack on the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021, that disrupted a joint session of the U.S. Congress in the process of affirming the 2020 presidential election results. During the siege of the Capitol that day, over 140 police officers were assaulted—including over 80 from the U.S. Capitol Police and over 60 from the Washington, D.C. Metropolitan Police Department—the Capitol was damaged, government property was destroyed, and other government property was stolen. Current estimates are that losses arising from the Capitol siege exceed $2.8 million. In total, approximately 1,532 individuals have been charged criminally in federal court.

Public Assistance:

         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 moves forward. In particular, the Department continues to pursue those criminally culpable, especially those who assaulted law enforcement officers and engaged in disruptive or obstructive conduct that interfered with the peaceful transfer of power.

• The FBI currently has 9 videos of suspects wanted for violent assaults on law enforcement agents or officers.
• The FBI has also sought information from the public to help identify Be-On-The-Lookouts (BOLOs) of violent offenders from January 6, 2021. That includes AFO BOLO # 91 and 383, both of whom assaulted police.
• The FBI also seeks assistance to locate known fugitives, including Evan Neumann, Adam Villarreal, and Paul Belosic.

         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.

Criminal Charges:

          Based on the public court documents, below is a snapshot of the investigation as of October 4, 2024, for those charged in U.S. District Court. 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

• Approximately 1,532 defendants have been federally charged with crimes associated with the attack of the U.S. Capitol, which includes:[1]
  • Approximately 571 charged with assaulting, resisting, or impeding law enforcement agents or officers or obstructing those officers during a civil disorder, including approximately 164 defendants charged with using a deadly or dangerous weapon or causing serious bodily injury to an officer;
  • 171 defendants charged with entering a restricted area with a dangerous or deadly weapon;
• As proven in Court, the weapons used and carried on Capitol grounds include firearms; OC spray; tasers; edged weapons, including a sword, axes, hatchets, and knives; and makeshift weapons, such as destroyed office furniture, fencing, bike racks, stolen riot shields, baseball bats, hockey sticks, flagpoles, PVC piping, and reinforced knuckle gloves;
• Approximately 18 defendants charged with seditious conspiracy;
  • Approximately 87 defendants charged with destruction of government property; and
• Approximately 66 charged with theft of government property.
• All defendants charged in the January 6 prosecution have been charged with some form of trespass or disorderly conduct, in violation of federal criminal codes.

Case Resolutions:

Pleas:

• Approximately 943 individuals have pleaded guilty, which includes approximately 304 defendants who have pleaded guilty to felonies and 639 who have pleaded guilty only to misdemeanors.
• Of those who pled guilty to felonies, 161 pleaded guilty to assaulting law enforcement; 122 pleaded guilty to obstructing law enforcement during a civil disorder (riot); 67 pleaded guilty to assaulting law enforcement with a dangerous or deadly weapon; and 4 pleaded guilty to seditious conspiracy– conspiring to use force against the United States. Some of these defendants pled guilty to one or multiple felony charges related to their conduct.

Trials:

• 195 individuals have been found guilty at contested trials in U.S. District Court, including 10 who were found guilty of seditious conspiracy. 
• Another 40 individuals have been convicted following an agreed-upon set of facts presented to and accepted by the Court.

Sentencings:

• Approximately 995 defendants have had their cases fully adjudicated and received sentences for their criminal activity on Jan. 6, including 615 sentenced to periods of incarceration and an additional 141 defendants sentenced to periods of incarceration where they were allowed to serve the entirety of their sentence in home detention.

Supreme Court Decision – Fischer v. United States: 

           As a result of Fischer v. United States, 23-5572, the government continues to review the cases of the approximately 259 defendants who, at the time Fischer was decided, were charged with or convicted of violating 18 U.S.C. § 1512 to determine whether the charge should continue to be prosecuted.

• There are zero cases where a defendant was charged only for violating 18 U.S.C. § 1512. In other words, even if the government foregoes this charge, every charged defendant will continue to face exposure to other criminal charges.
• Of those 259 defendants, at the time that Fischer was decided, approximately 126 defendants had cases still pending in the U.S. District Court, and 133 defendants had their cases fully adjudicated.
• Of the 126 defendants with pending cases at the time that Fischer was decided, the government subsequently decided to forgo the Section 1512(c)(2) charge for approximately 73 defendants, will continue to pursue the charge for approximately 13 defendants, and continues to assess the remaining defendants.
• For the 133 defendants whose cases had been adjudicated by the time Fischer was decided (i.e., post-sentencing), the government has taken the position, in response to defense motions, that it does not oppose dismissal or vacatur of the charge in approximately 49 cases. The government similarly continues to assess the remaining cases when appropriate.
• To date, 1 defendant has received a sentencing reduction because of Fischer.