BlakeDavidTaylor/iStockBy ALEXANDER MALLIN and LUKE BARR, ABC News
(WASHINGTON) — Acting Washington, D.C., U.S. Attorney Michael Sherwin said Tuesday that they have identified 400 suspects and have arrested 135 to date in connection with the attack on the U.S. Capitol.
Sherwin also said that list of suspects is “growing by the hour,” but cautioned they might not have probable cause at this moment to charge all 400.
“All of our law enforcement partners are doing everything we can to ensure that list increases geometrically, which it does every single day,” he added.
FBI Assistant Director in Charge of the Washington Field Office Steven D’Antuono lauded Americans who came forward and helped turn in some of the people they were looking for, saying that they’ve received over 200,000 digital media tips.
“Some of you have recognized that this was such an egregious incident that you’ve turned in your own friends and family members. We know that those decisions are often painful, but you pick up the phone because it was the right thing to do,” he said. “We are grateful you made that choice. America is grateful you made that choice.”
Although D’Antuono did not mention him by name, Jackson Reffitt told ABC News on Tuesday that he is now in hiding and has cut ties with his family after he said he tipped off the FBI that his father was a part of the riots.
The DOJ is still trying to “build towards” charges of seditious conspiracy and pointed to the Thomas Caldwell OathKeeper case because “it shows a militia group’s actively involved in planning and breaching the Capitol,” according to Sherwin.
He said the public could see possible sedition charges “bear fruit very soon” and that there could be an uptick in assaults against police officer cases. At a previous press conference, Sherwin said the DOJ established a task force to investigate possible sedition charges.
“At present we don’t have the whole universe” of individuals who may have illegally entered the Capitol,” D’Antuono said Tuesday. “We don’t have hard and fast figures on that.”
D’Antuono also said that they are still looking for suspects related to the pipe bomb placed outside the Democratic National Committee and Republican National Committee buildings the day of the riot. There is a $75,000 reward for information pertaining to a suspect.
“The components of the bomb made it a viable device,” he explained.
He said that the Justice Department looks for the most easily provable case to charge some of the individuals with and then they can add felony charges once if they have enough evidence to charge them.
Sherwin said there is 150 federal cases and 50 D.C. Superior Court cases, totaling almost 200 cases they have ether announced or are under seal.
It doesn’t matter who is in the White House, the Department of Justice will still bring charges against those who entered the Capitol illegally, Sherwin added.
“The Criminal Code is the same it is on the 26th of January that it was on Jan. 6,” Sherwin said. “If the evidence is there, if we could identify someone, they’re going to be charged regardless of who is in the White House.”
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