The US Justice Department has charged more than 300 people with taking part in the deadly storming of the Capitol by former President Donald Trump’s supporters, and at least 280 have been arrested, acting Deputy Attorney General John Carlin told reporters on Friday.
“The investigation into those responsible is moving at a speed and scale that’s unprecedented, and rightly so,” Carlin said. “Those responsible must be held to account, and they will be.”
On Thursday, acting Capitol Police Chief Yogananda Pittman told legislators that Trump supporters had indicated they may wish to blow up the building. Pittman expressed concern violent groups could target Congress during an address by President Joe Biden.
On Friday, a senior FBI official, responding to questions about that threat, said the bureau is “watching very closely for any reaction from individuals that would show either an intent to commit an attack or somebody that has already committed one”.
The FBI has been investigating whether far-right fringe groups such as the Oath Keepers and Proud Boys conspired in advance to impede the election certification.So far, at least 18 associates of the Proud Boys have been charged in connection with the riots. This month, prosecutors also charged nine associates of the Oath Keepers in connection with an alleged plot to storm the Capitol dating as far back as November 2020.
The senior FBI official told reporters that domestic extremists have increasingly posed grave threats for several years, and said anti-government extremist threats were the biggest threat in 2020 and remain a top concern.
“2020 was a very big year for us. The violent reaction to a mixture of events that took place around the country is unlike anything we have seen in decades,” the official said, noting that three of the four fatal domestic-based attacks came from people who ascribe to an “anti-government or anti-authority violent extremist ideology”.
A federal grand jury indicted nine associates of the far-right, anti-government Oath Keepers militia on Friday for conspiring to storm the US Capitol on January 6 to prevent Congress from certifying President Joe Biden’s election victory.
In a superseding indictment, US prosecutors charged six people allegedly connected to Oath Keepers; Ohio residents Sandra Ruth Parker, 60, and her husband Bennie Alvin Parker, 70, Graydon Young, 54, of Florida, Kelly Meggs, 52, and his wife Connie Meggs, 59, also of Florida, and Laura Steele, 52, of North Carolina.
The remaining three defendants – Thomas Caldwell, Jessica Watkins and Donovan Crowl – were previously indicted for conspiracy in January. In the latest version of the indictment, the government filed additional charges against Caldwell for tampering with evidence by deleting his Facebook posts.
Caldwell and Watkins have pleaded not guilty. Crowl has not yet entered a plea.
The indictment alleged that the group conspired as far back as November to storm the Capitol, and extensively planned for a military-style attack that even contemplated staging an armed “quick reaction force” outside the city that would be ready to move if ordered by then-President Donald Trump.
According to the indictment, Kelly Meggs is a self-described leader of the Florida chapter of the Oath Keepers.
“Trump said It’s gonna be wild!!!!!!! It’s gonna be wild!!!!!!! He wants us to make it WILD that’s what he’s saying. He called us all to the Capitol and wants us to make it wild!!! Sir Yes Sir!!! Gentlemen we are heading to DC pack your s***!!” Meggs said in a Facebook post in late December about the upcoming January 6 rally, according to authorities.
More than 200 people have been charged so far for their roles in the Capitol riots that left five people dead and caused members of Congress to flee.
The FBI has been investigating whether far-right fringe groups, such as the Oath Keepers and Proud Boys, conspired in advance to impede the election certification.
So far, at least 18 associates of the Proud Boys have been charged for roles in the riots.
Sandra and Bennie Parker appeared in a federal court in Ohio on Thursday and were released on bond pending their next appearance in a federal court in Washington, DC. A lawyer for Sandra Parker declined comment. A lawyer for her husband did not respond to a request for comment.
The remaining defendants are due to appear in federal courts in Florida and North Carolina next week.
Lawyers for Young and Kelly Meggs declined comment. Lawyers for the others could not immediately be reached.
According to one of the criminal complaints filed in the case, some of the defendants did not seem too concerned they would face criminal charges.
“I’ve been following FBI wanted list, seems they’re only interested in people who destroyed things. I wouldn’t worry about them coming after us,” Watkins told Bennie Parker, according to texts obtained by the FBI.
“I’m sure they’re not on us,” Bennie Parker replied.
