three figures that sum up “the largest criminal investigation in American history” led by the FBI

“We will follow the facts, wherever they lead.” The US Minister of Justice on Wednesday (January 5) promised that the Biden administration would prosecute all those implicated in the assault on Capitol Hill, which killed five people a year earlier. His ministry “undertakes to hold all the assailants of January 6 to account in court, regardless of their status, whether they were present that day or whether they are criminally responsible for the attack on our democracy “, insisted Merrick Garland.

While a parliamentary investigation tries to establish the possible faults committed by Donald Trump and his relatives, the Department of Justice (Department of Justice Where DOJ, in English) is overseeing a federal investigation on a scale unprecedented in American history. A year after the assault, franceinfo looks back on this survey, in three striking figures.

Still 350 people wanted by the FBI

The FBI estimates that at least 2,000 pro-Trump activists are involved in the assault on Capitol Hill, which sought to prevent congressional certification of Joe Biden’s presidential victory. “In response to the attack, the Department of Justice launched what has become the largest criminal investigation in American history, involving hundreds of federal investigators and prosecutors across the country.”, recalls the public radio NPR *.

During the first ten weeks of the investigation, the authorities thus issued “nearly 1,000 letters rogatory (…) and 350 to 400 arrest warrants”, listed a former prosecutor in an interview with CBS *. ButThe FBI is still looking for 350 people involved in the assault and who have still not been identified, according to the ABC channel *. More than 250 of them are suspected of violence against the police.

At least 725 indictments

In one year, the federal prosecutor’s office has already indicted 725 individuals for their participation in the violence, according to the Ministry of Justice. The vast majority (87%) are men, specifies the Project on Extremism of George Washington University *. Most are from Florida, Pennsylvania and Texas, and have been identified through their social media accounts.

Their profiles are varied. Among them we find supporters of Donald Trump as well as “seasoned far-right activists and convinced conspirators”, details LCI. Nearly a hundred of them are thus linked to extremist groups, such as the Proud Boys or the conspiratorial movement QAnon, adds the CBS * channel. They are also 12% to have passed through the army.

About 640 defendants are being prosecuted for entering a federal site or building without authorization, an offense punishable by up to one year in prison and a $ 100,000 fine, reports CBS. Some 225 others are indicted for having attacked or resisted the police (who counted 138 officers injured in the assault), some with “dangerous or lethal weapon”.

Among the other charges retained: the theft or destruction of government property, attack and destruction of journalists’ equipment or even hindering the proper functioning of the State. The latest crime, which can be punished with 20 years in prison, targets activists who tried to prevent the certification vote for Joe Biden’s victory in the presidential election.

The DOJ also specified that 54 activists were being prosecuted for “criminal association”. This count, the most serious so far, implies that the assault was planned in advance. However, the prosecution did not proceed with any indictment for “sedition” or “insurrection”, more serious crimes but also more difficult to prove.

Over 70 convictions (and many trials to come)

The courts have so far handed down 74 convictions against those involved in the attack, nearly half of whom received prison terms, according to an NPR count. Among these are infamous faces from the assault, such as “The Shaman of QAnon”, Jacob Chansley. The 34-year-old Trumpist activist, pictured in his buffalo horned headdress in the halls of Congress, was sentenced to 51 months in prison for obstructing the Congress vote.

At this stage, the heaviest sentence has been handed down in mid-December against Robert Scott Palmer *. This Florida man was sentenced to more than 5 years in prison for attacking police officers with a fire extinguisher and a wooden plank.

A total of 172 defendants have signed plea-guilty agreements, which prevent a trial, according to statistics from Project on Extremism. The majority of these deals relate to minor offenses (such as participating in an “unauthorized protest”), reports CBS.

Most of the trials arising from this investigation are due to be held in 2022, CNN * points out. Richard Barnett’s * will take place in February. The 60-year-old, prosecuted on seven counts, was photographed with his feet on the desk of the Democratic Speaker of the House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi. “If found guilty, most people prosecuted for crimes risk imprisonment”, recalls the American channel.

* Links followed by an asterisk refer to content in English.