On Jan. 6, the U.S. Capitol was taken over by Trump supporters with MAGA signs, Confederate flags and even firearms. Now the FBI and the Metropolitan Police Department are asking for help to identify the terrorists who laid siege to the Congressional headquarters.
According to CBS, acting Metropolitan Police Chief Robert Contee said at Jan. 7 press conference, “As we speak, we have members of the Metropolitan Police Department that are scouring the area hotels, businesses, etc. trying to identify some of these individuals that still may be taking up residence within our city.”
FBI Director Christopher Wray added, “The violence and destruction of property at the U.S. Capitol building yesterday showed a blatant and appalling disregard for our institutions of government and the orderly administration of the democratic process.”
He continued, “As we’ve said consistently, we do not tolerate violent agitators and extremists who use the guise of First Amendment-protected activity to incite violence and wreak havoc. Such behavior betrays the values of our democracy. Make no mistake: With our partners, we will hold accountable those who participated in yesterday’s siege of the Capitol.”
A press release from the FBI said they are “accepting tips and digital media depicting rioting and violence in the U.S. Capitol Building and surrounding area in Washington, D.C., on January 6, 2021.”
The press release advised to “submit any information, photos, or videos that could be relevant at fbi.gov/USCapitol.”
There’s a reward for up to $1,000 for information leading to the suspects’ arrests, CBS also reports.
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There are many questions on how hundreds of people were able to break into the Capitol building during the certification of electoral college votes.
It is unclear if the rioters were from an organized group or just random people, but what is clear is that they were determined to stop Biden from becoming president, believing President Trump’s baseless and thoroughly refuted claims of massive voter fraud in the 2020 election.
Nonetheless, Congress certified Biden’s win just after 3:40 a.m. on Jan. 7.
President Trump is being largely criticized for inciting the violence for weeks by complaining that the 2020 presidential election was rigged. He even tweeted an invite to the January 6 protest, promising his followers that it “will be wild.” After multiple lawsuits in several states, his legal team lost nearly 60 court cases by failing to provide any evidence of massive voter fraud that would overturn the election.