Matthew Graves, the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia, indicated that his office intends to focus on prosecuting several Americans who gathered outside the Capitol Building on January 6, 2021.
The office of Graves has already filed charges against over 1,400 individuals for offenses connected to January 6th, resulting in more than 900 convictions that consistently entail imprisonment. Graves has recognized that the majority of those who assaulted Secret Service officials and forcefully entered the White House during the George Floyd riots in 2020 have not faced legal charges. This stands in stark contrast to the current situation.
Graves indicated in a recent press conference that his agency will imminently focus on Americans who gathered outside the building or on the grounds of the Capitol. “A crucial point to consider regarding our legal actions against individuals who stayed outside the premises.” The exercise of our prosecutorial discretion has been exclusively directed on individuals who entered the building or engaged in violent or corrupt behavior on Capitol grounds,” he stated.
“But if a person knowingly entered the restricted area without authorization, they had already committed a federal crime. Make no mistake, thousands of people occupied an area that they were not authorized to be present in in the first place.”
DC U.S. Attorney Matthew Graves is making clear that the DOJ is now going to target Americans who were around the Capitol on J6 but did not enter the building pic.twitter.com/bj4i3QfHe9
— ALX 🇺🇸 (@alx) January 6, 2024
Simultaneously, as Graves insinuated that the January 6 Capitol protests may lead to a substantial number of arrests in the future, a radical leftist participant proudly boasted about earning a monetary compensation of $24,000 for his involvement in the “George Floyd rebellion.”
“The City of New York has paid me and 300+ others $24k each, for beating us & detaining us w out rights in the Bronx, during the 2020 George Floyd rebellion,” the man wrote. He then referred to New York City Mayor Eric Adams as a “Zionist pig” and vowed to donate his taxpayer-funded check to Palestine.
>The City of New York has paid me and 300+ others $24k each, for beating us & detaining us w out rights
No, they paid you for doing your job – you are a government employee
>during the 2020 George Floyd rebellion
Ah yes, government paid for "rebellion"
Delusional or lying? https://t.co/lliRG7XNKS pic.twitter.com/vfPqtmNbsh
— Covfefe Anon (@CovfefeAnon) January 6, 2024
New York is among a number of urban areas with predominantly liberal political leanings that have provided monetary compensations to individuals involved in violent riots associated with the Black Lives Matter movement.
Doubling down on his determination to seek vengeance on any Republican citizen who so much had happened to be in the nation’s capitol on January 6, 2000, Graves justified thousands more arrests by alleging that many more police officers likely injured on Jan. 6 than previously reported.
Graves said the attack was likely “the largest single-day, mass assault of law enforcement officers in our nation’s history.”
“One hundred and forty officers guarding the Capitol that day reported physical injury. But we know from talking to the hundreds of officers guarding the Capitol that day that this 140 number undercounts the number of officers who were physically injured, let alone those who have suffered trauma as a result of the day’s events,” said Graves, who was speaking at a press conference commemorating the third anniversary of the insurrection.
According to Graves, a significant number of law enforcement officers who were harmed in the assault have resigned from their roles due to their ongoing physical incapacity to fulfill their duties as police officers.
Graves provided a detailed account of the events that occurred at the Capitol on January 6th and discussed the Department of Justice’s significant criminal investigation into the persons involved. He emphasized the department’s endeavors to thoroughly investigate and bring charges against anyone who committed crimes on that day. According to him, the public has assisted in identifying numerous individuals present in the Capitol during the attack. However, he emphasized that further assistance from the public is still required.
The attorney reported that around 900 individuals have been convicted for offenses committed on January 6th. Out of the total number of convictions, 149 individuals have been found guilty of assaulting, resisting, or obstructing officers or workers. Among them, 41 individuals have been convicted specifically for using a lethal or hazardous weapon to cause bodily harm to an officer.
According to Graves, there are still over 80 individuals who are being sought and must be identified for their involvement in acts of violence on that particular day. The FBI is publishing a roster of the most sought-after individuals.
During his presentation, Graves enumerated the diverse array of weapons that the rioters had, encompassing firearms, stun guns, flag poles, knives, baseball bats, and various more.
The attorney said the statute of limitations for crimes committed on Jan. 6 runs out on Jan. 5, 2026. The DOJ’s work in prosecuting Jan. 6 is “not to win at all costs,” he said, but “to do justice for all.”
“What the events of Jan. 6, 2021, reveal is that our democracy is fragile. The fact that we have existed with peaceful transitions of power for over 200 years is not a guarantee of our future. Nothing is assured,” Graves said.
