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INVESTIGATIONS The Capitol Siege: The Cases Behind The Biggest Criminal Investigation In U.S. History

Updated August 13, 202111:51 AM ET
Heard on All Things Considered
https://www.npr.org/2021/02/09/965472049/the-capitol-siege-the-arrested-and-their-stories

Editor's note: This story was first published on Feb. 9, 2021. It is regularly updated, and includes explicit language.

The riot at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021 has led to what the Department of Justice calls the largest criminal investigation in American history. The Federal Bureau of Investigation has classified the attack as an act of domestic terrorism.

The violent breach forced the evacuation of the Capitol, and threatened the country's peaceful transfer of presidential power. Approximately 140 members of law enforcement suffered injuries in the attack, including brain damage and crushed spinal discs. More than 100 rioters have been accused of assaulting police, and many allegedly used weapons such as pepper spray, stun guns, bats, and American flags wielded as clubs.

Five people ultimately died. One rioter, 35-year-old Ashli Babbitt, was shot and killed by a police officer. And Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick, who investigators allege was attacked with a chemical spray, died the day after the riot. The medical examiner determined that death was the result of natural causes - two strokes - though stated that "all that transpired [on Jan. 6] played a role in his condition." Two other people died of natural causes, authorities concluded, and a third as the result of "acute amphetamine intoxication."

Since that day, the government has brought criminal charges against more than 600 individuals, and even now, more than seven months after the attack, the FBI continues to arrest new suspects. Meanwhile, some of these cases are reaching their conclusions. More than 35 defendants have pleaded guilty to one or more charges, and the charges against one defendant were dismissed. No defendants have gone to trial.

The stories of those charged provide clues to key questions surrounding the Capitol breach: Who exactly joined the mob? What did they do? And why? To try to answer those questions, NPR is examining the criminal cases related to the Capitol riot, drawing on court documents, public records, news accounts and social media.

Jump to our database of individuals charged
https://www.npr.org/2021/02/09/965472049/the-capitol-siege-the-arrested-and-their-stories#database

A group this large defies generalization. The defendants are predominantly white and male, though there were exceptions. Federal prosecutors say a former member of the Latin Kings gang joined the mob, as did two Virginia police officers. A man in a "Camp Auschwitz" sweatshirt allegedly took part, as did a Messianic Rabbi, and a Christian pastor. Far-right militia members decked out in tactical gear allegedly rioted next to a county commissioner, a New York City sanitation worker, and a two-time Olympic gold medalist.

Still, NPR's examination did identify certain commonalities.
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https://www.npr.org/2021/02/09/965472049/the-capitol-siege-the-arrested-and-their-stories