Where the Jan. 6 Capitol attack investigation stands, by the numbers: DOJ
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(WASHINGTON) — Nearly 1,600 individuals have faced charges in the four years since a mob of President-elect Donald Trump’s supporters attacked the U.S. Capitol, according to figures released by the U.S. Attorney’s Office on Monday.
But one of the largest investigations in the Department of Justice’s history now faces a future rife with uncertainty.
Of the roughly 1,583 defendants whom prosecutors have charged in connection with the Capitol riot, 608 have faced charges for assaulting, resisting or interfering with law enforcement trying to protect the complex that day, the office said.
Roughly 174 of those 608 were charged with using a deadly or dangerous weapon or otherwise causing serious injury to an officer.
And in a rare move, the U.S. Attorney’s Office revealed it is currently evaluating whether to bring charges in roughly 200 cases that have been referred to them by the FBI, about 60 of which involve potential felony charges involving allegations of assault or impeding law enforcement.
While the U.S. Attorney’s Office has provided monthly “by the numbers” updates in connection with the Capitol attack — detailing arrests, guilty pleas and sentencings among other figures — Monday’s update is the first to include an estimate of the number of uncharged cases being evaluated by prosecutors.
It comes just days before Trump is set to take office for his second term and potentially follow through on his years-long public promises to pardon a vast number of Jan. 6 defendants, whom he has described as “political prisoners” unfairly targeted by the Biden administration.
The two months since Election Day have already proved to be a time of major instability for the Justice Department’s Capitol riot cases — as prosecutors have sought to manage an increasing number of newly emboldened defendants seeking delays in their cases with the potential promise of pardons or commutations on the horizon.
While Trump has promised to hand down a number of pardons and commutations during his first hours in office to some Jan. 6 defendants, neither he nor his transition have provided concrete guidance on how sweeping those pardons will ultimately be.
Trump’s Justice Department is also expected to slow down or even shutter completely the ongoing investigation into the attack.
In figures released Monday, the U.S. Attorney’s Office made clear to document how many cases are outstanding in advance of Trump’s inauguration, noting that 170 defendants who have already pleaded guilty or been found guilty still await sentencing.
Roughly 300 cases remain where a charged defendant hasn’t pleaded guilty or been found guilty, approximately 180 of whom have been charged with assaulting or impeding police.
(LOUISIANA) — NFL hopeful Kyren Lacy, one of the top wide receiver prospects in this year’s draft, is wanted for negligent homicide in connection with a deadly crash in Louisiana last month, state police announced Friday.
Louisiana State Police said they have issued an arrest warrant for Lacy, 24, of Thibodaux, for allegedly leaving the scene of a fatal crash on Dec. 17.
Lacy, who played for Louisiana State University in the fall before declaring for the draft, is alleged to have been behind the wheel of a 2023 Dodge Charger when he “recklessly passed multiple vehicles at a high rate of speed by crossing the centerline and entering the northbound lane while in a designated No-Passing Zone” on Louisiana Highway 20, state police said in a press release.
The driver of a 2017 Kia Cadenza traveling north swerved to avoid hitting the Dodge, only to cross the centerline and collide head-on with a 2017 Kia Sorento. A passenger in the Kia Sorento, identified by police as 78-year-old Herman Hall of Thibodaux, died from his injuries after being transported to a hospital, authorities said.
Lacy allegedly drove around the crash scene and fled south, “without stopping to render aid, call emergency services, or report his involvement in the crash,” state police said.
In addition to negligent homicide, he is being sought for felony hit and run and reckless operation of a vehicle, police said.
“Troopers are in communication with Lacy and his legal representation to turn himself in,” Louisiana State Police said in the release.
Lacy’s agent said the athlete is “fully cooperating with the authorities.”
“We strongly believe that the facts will ultimately demonstrate the truth, but we respect the need for a full and thorough investigation,” the agent, Rocky Arceneaux of Alliance Sports, said in a statement.
Arceneaux added that the case is “being taken very seriously, and we are committed to resolving it responsibly.”
Lacy was a wide receiver for the LSU Tigers. Two days after the crash, on Dec. 19, he announced that he will be declaring for the 2025 NFL draft.
The star prospect had 58 catches for 866 yards and nine touchdowns this season. Lacy had 26 touchdown catches in his five seasons at LSU. He opted out of the Texas Bowl against Baylor to focus on preparation for the draft.
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(DENVER) — Two federal law enforcement sources briefed on Wednesday morning’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)-led raids in seven locations across Denver tell ABC News that the operation yielded the arrest of just one alleged gang member. Twenty-nine people were also detained, sources told ABC News.
ICE previously said on Wednesday that “100+ members of the violent Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua were targeted for arrest and detention” in raids that day. However, the operation ultimately produced far fewer than that number.
The arrest and detentions are separate from a DEA operation ABC News also observed in Denver that day while accompanying ICE and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) agents. The DEA operation resulted in at least two-drug related arrests that were not related to immigration status, sources told ABC News.
ABC News interviewed and obtained Ring doorbell footage from one person that revealed agents on Wednesday going door-to-door asking residents at one apartment complex for identification, travel documents, and permission to enter the units to look around. In many cases, agents did not present a warrant or explain why they were there, according to ABC News interviews with residents and examination of obtained footage.
A DEA official on scene told ABC News that they executed two targeted drug trafficking warrants at the apartment complex at the same time as the ICE raid.
After the operation, Tim Lenzen, the acting special agent in charge of HSI’s Denver office, told reporters that they did not have the total numbers of detainments or how many of those were for alleged immigration-related offenses, though he did say that one arrest was a fugitive from Chile and “a known [Tren de Aragua] member.” Lenzen said that member was wanted for kidnapping and extortion in another country.
President Trump’s border czar, Tom Homan, said Wednesday on Fox News that the ICE “operation was leaked,” which compromised its effectiveness.
“This is not a game,” Homan said, adding that “people who want to game this … need to stop or we’ll prosecute them through the Department of Justice.”
(NEW YORK) — East Coast residents and lawmakers are again demanding answers after another slew of drone sightings in the region, with the origins of the alleged craft still unclear.
Matthew Murello, the mayor of Washington Township in New Jersey, told “Good Morning America” on Monday that he believes “something’s going on,” expressing concern and frustration at the lack of answers from federal authorities.
“I’m not trying to stir anything up, but we all know — if you just turn on the television — that drones can be used in an aggressive fashion,” Murello said. “They can carry payloads. They can be used for all kinds of really aggressive-type things.”
White House national security communications adviser John Kirby said Thursday that “many” of the reported drone sightings appear to be lawfully operated manned aircraft, adding there was “no evidence at this time that the reported drone sightings pose a national security or a public safety threat, or have a foreign nexus.”
But Murello said those living under the drones are not reassured.
“That’s a wonderful thing to tell your residents,” he said when asked about Kirby’s assurances. “That’s fantastic, until it’s not.”
“Nobody knows what these things are doing,” Murello added. “Best case scenario, they’re just getting video of us. Again, I don’t know why out here. We’re nothing but farm country. If you want videos of cows, I’ll be happy to send you some.”
Murello cast doubt on the official statements suggesting “no perceived threat.”
“We’ve heard that before from our federal government — ‘We’re not looking, we’re not watching you, we’re not watching your calls, we’re not doing everything and don’t worry — we’re here and we’re here to help you’,” he said.
Murello was among a group of New Jersey mayors who wrote to Gov. Phil Murphy asking for more information. The mayors were subsequently invited to a meeting, but Murello said the governor did not attend.
Instead, state police told the mayors they had little information on the drones. Authorities, Murello said, could not explain why some drones are being flown without emitting radio frequencies or using transponders — both of which are required by law when a drone is used at night.
Murello said he had personally seen “a couple” of drones “around my town.” He disputed Kirby’s statement that many of the reported sightings were of misidentified manned aircraft.
“I have no way of telling you how big it was, but I can sure as heck can tell what they sound like,” the mayor said. “And I know that they are not. What Adm. Kirby said — which is a manned aircraft — that just isn’t right.”
“I’ve seen multiple rotor, helicopter-type aircraft hovering above the tree line,” Murello said, recalling one police official who said the drones can be up to 6 feet in diameter. The fact that most are spotted at night makes it “very difficult to kind of get an idea on them,” Murello added.
Reports of drone activity forced the temporary closure of runways at New York’s Stewart International Airport on Friday. The potential danger to aircraft is causing concern on the East Coast, Murello said.
“If pilots don’t see these things and they’re 6 foot in diameter and they hit an airplane — that is not going to end well,” he said.
Senators are also pushing federal agencies for more information. Last week, New York Sens. Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand and New Jersey Sens. Cory Booker and Andy Kim wrote to the heads of the FBI, Federal Aviation Administration and the Department of Homeland Security requesting meetings.
“We write with urgent concern regarding the unmanned aerial system activity that has affected communities across New York and New Jersey in recent days,” the letter said, requesting a briefing “as soon as possible on how your agencies are working with federal and local law enforcement to identify and address the source of these incursions.”
The mystery has caught the public’s attention, with photos and videos of alleged sightings proliferating across social media. One FBI official told reporters Saturday that out of the nearly 5,000 tips the agency had received, less than 100 generated credible leads for further investigation.
As the search for answers continues, Murello said he sees “only two logical conclusions.”
“One is somebody knows something and they’re just not willing to tell us,” the mayor said, suggesting potential national security sensitivities around the Morristown Airport and President-elect Donald Trump’s Bedminster golf course.
“If this is an area that needs to be surveilled in the eventuality that the incoming president is going to spend a lot of time here, you know what? I’m fine with that. Just simply say it’s an issue of national security,” he said.
An “even scarier” explanation is that “we’re the greatest nation in the world with the most technologically advanced military on the planet earth, and we don’t know what the hell these things are,” Murello added. “That’s scary.”
The DHS and FAA have both warned against attempting to shoot down a suspected drone, citing the danger of falling debris and ammunition.
It is illegal to shoot down a drone. Anyone who does so could be fined up to $250,000 and sentenced to up to 20 years in prison.
Murello said he would “definitely” not advise anyone to try to down a drone. “You also don’t know if you do hit it, where it’s going to come down and where are the rounds of ammunition going to land,” he said.
“But I will say that, speaking with friends of mine that are current and former state troopers, we have the technology to be able to bring a drone down,” Murello added, suggesting it was “absolutely silly” that law enforcement authorities are not authorized to down drones unless they are deemed a threat by the federal government.
“We don’t need to bring all of them down, we need to bring one of them down,” Murello continued. “We bring one down, we figure out what’s going on.”
