The number of people arrested for alleged Jan. 6 crimes at the U.S. Capitol is nearing 1,400 as the rate of arrests showed a sharp increase in the first quarter compared to 2023 and 2022, a report shows. The U.S. Department of Justice reported that as of the close of business on April 5, 1,387 […]

Attorneys for the estate of Ashli Babbitt have filed opposition to an attempt by the U.S. Department of Justice to move a $30 million wrongful-death lawsuit brought by her widower from San Diego federal court to Washington. The DOJ filed a motion for change of venue in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District […]

If the U.S. Supreme Court strikes down the Department of Justice’s controversial use of an evidence-tampering law to prosecute Jan. 6 protesters, federal prosecutors indicate they would likely seek longer jail time on other charges to make up the difference. In a March 19 court filing in the case of Anthony Robert Williams, 48, of […]

The Central Intelligence Agency deployed two bomb technicians to assist with a pipe bomb found at the Democratic National Committee headquarters in Washington D.C. on Jan. 6 and there were “several CIA dog teams on standby,” according to records obtained by Judicial Watch. References to CIA involvement on Jan. 6 were included in text messages […]

A California physician who gave medical aid to a dying Ashli Babbitt on Jan. 6, 2021, but was forced away from the scene by police has been sentenced to probation as part of a plea deal for his time at the U.S. Capitol. Dr. Austin Brendlen Harris, 43, of Granada Hills, California, was sentenced on […]

An undercover U.S. Capitol Police officer found a pipe bomb planted under a bench outside the Democratic National Committee (DNC) on Jan. 6, 2021, and reported it to a Secret Service detail sitting in two vehicles just feet away, two recent media reports indicate. The undercover officer’s role in the discovery of the pipe bomb, […]

Judicial Watch has filed a $30 million wrongful death lawsuit for the Jan. 6, 2021, killing of Air Force veteran Ashli Babbitt by U.S. Capitol Police Lt. Michael Byrd. The suit, filed in federal court in San Diego, accuses Mr. Byrd of multiple counts of negligence that resulted in Ms. Babbitt’s death by a gunshot […]

Federal prosecutors have asked a judge to send James Ray Epps Sr. to jail for six months when he appears for sentencing Jan. 9 on one count of disorderly or disruptive conduct at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. The U.S. Department of Justice acknowledged in its 29-page sentencing memorandum that the Epps case […]

The U.S. Supreme Court will take up a Jan. 6 defendant’s appeal of the Department of Justice’s novel use of evidence-tampering law to prosecute hundreds of defendants for obstruction of Congress. A miscellaneous order released by the High Court on Dec. 13 granted the petition of Joseph Wayne Fischer, challenging the most widely charged felony […]

More than 40,000 hours of Jan. 6 Capitol Police security video will be made public on a dedicated website starting immediately and ramping up in the coming months, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) announced on Nov. 17. However, individual video clips released to media or other requesters will have the faces of identifiable individuals blurred, […]

A Jan. 6 defendant from Pennsylvania originally charged with felonies including assaulting police at the U.S. Capitol and civil disorder was given a secret plea deal and served his entire prison term without details being recorded on a public court docket. Samuel Lazar, 37, of Ephrata, Pa., was arrested by the FBI on July 26, […]

One of the most recognizable figures from Jan. 6 came out of obscurity on Sept. 27 for a broadcast interview to tell the world that he is not—and was not—a federal agent who cut down plastic fencing and pulled up steel fence posts at the U.S. Capitol. “I guess I got a hashtag on Twitter […]

WASHINGTON—James Ray Epps Sr. pleaded guilty on Sept. 20 to a single misdemeanor disorderly conduct charge, bringing to a close a lightning-quick prosecution for his actions in Washington D.C. on Jan. 6, 2021. Appearing remotely before Chief U.S. District Judge James Boasberg, Mr. Epps pleaded guilty to disorderly or disruptive conduct in a restricted building […]

Three days before Jan. 6, 2021, U.S. House Sergeant at Arms Paul Irving rejected Capitol Police Chief Steven Sund’s request for National Guard help because Mr. Irving said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) would “never go for it,” Mr. Sund testified before a House subcommittee on Sept. 19. Mr. Sund’s revelation came during a 90-minute […]

Three more criminal-case defendants have joined a petition seeking to have the U.S. Supreme Court review the U.S. Department of Justice’s (DOJ) novel use of an evidence-tampering statute to prosecute those who protested 2020 presidential election results at the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. Defendants Christopher J. Warnagiris, 43, Christopher J. Carnell, 21, and William […]

WASHINGTON—Henry “Enrique” Tarrio Jr., the Florida-based former chairman of the Proud Boys accused of being the mastermind of a seditious conspiracy to attack the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, was sentenced to 22 years in federal prison on Sept. 5 by U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly. Mr. Tarrio, 39, of Miami, received the longest […]

WASHINGTON—Proud Boys leader Ethan Michael Nordean was sentenced to 18 years in prison on Sept. 1, based in part on a terrorism enhancement for tearing down a fence on U.S. Capitol grounds on Jan. 6, 2021. United States District Judge Timothy Kelly gave Mr. Nordean a harsher sentence than three of his co-defendants, but it […]

A New York member of the Proud Boys who used a stolen police riot shield to smash open a window on the Senate side of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, was sentenced to 10 years in prison on Sept. 1 by a federal judge in Washington D.C. Dominic J. Pezzola of Rochester was […]

A federal judge on Aug. 31 sentenced Proud Boys leader Joseph Randall Biggs to 17 years in prison and co-defendant Zachary Rehl to 15 years, calling the destruction of a fence on U.S. Capitol property during the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol breach an act of terrorism. Mr. Biggs, 39, of Ormond Beach, Florida, is the […]

A federal appeals court on Aug. 18 struck down the use of so-called “split sentences” in Jan. 6 cases—imposing both prison and probation for petty-offense misdemeanors such as the often-used charge of “parading, demonstrating, or picketing in a Capitol building.” The 2–1 ruling by a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the […]

Independent journalist Steve Baker says he was served a subpoena signed by Assistant U.S. Attorney Anita Eve, demanding all of the video he shot at and near the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. He said the subpoena likely means the DOJ is investigating him for alleged felony crimes. “They want to silence me,” Mr. Baker […]

Capitol Police continues to retaliate against employees who file whistleblower complaints with the Capitol Police Office of Inspector General, a U.S. House oversight panel was told on July 19. “Numerous whistleblowers have come forward with claims of retaliation and abuse after speaking with the Office of Inspector General,” said Rep. Barry Loudermilk (R-Ga.), chairman of […]

The U.S. Department of Justice appealed the Jan. 6-related prison sentences given to eight members of the Oath Keepers, concluding that a federal judge in the District of Columbia was too lenient. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeffrey Nestler filed notices of appeal in the criminal cases of Oath Keepers founder Elmer Stewart Rhodes III and Oath […]

Former Oath Keepers general counsel Kellye SoRelle has been ruled incompetent to stand trial on four Jan. 6 criminal counts, suspending her prosecution indefinitely while she seeks mental health treatment. At a hearing on June 16 in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., Judge Amit Mehta ruled that SoRelle will not stand trial as scheduled […]

An Arkansas man famously photographed with his feet on a desk in House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s office on Jan. 6, 2021, was sentenced to 54 months in prison on May 24 in Washington. Richard “Bigo” Barnett, 62, of Gravette, Arkansas, was also sentenced to 36 months of supervised release and fined $2,000 by U.S. District […]

The U.S. Department of Justice is seeking a 25-year prison sentence for Oath Keepers founder Elmer Stewart Rhodes III after he was found guilty at trial of seditious conspiracy and other Jan. 6-related charges. Such a sentence would by far be the longest of any Jan. 6 criminal prosecution. In a 183-page sentencing memorandum (pdf) […]

The federal judge overseeing the Proud Boys seditious-conspiracy trial in Washington on April 16 rejected a defendant’s calls for a mistrial and his allegations of evidence tampering, withholding of exculpatory evidence, and government misconduct. In a 10-page ruling, U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly rejected requests from defendant Dominic Pezzola for a mistrial or dismissal of […]

A Connecticut man who pinned a police officer against a door in the Lower West Terrace tunnel for more than two minutes was sentenced to 7.5 years in federal prison for his role in violence at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. The sentence handed down to Patrick Edward McCaughey III, 25, of Ridgefield, […]

Former President Donald Trump has filed a motion in federal court to dismiss the $30 million wrongful-death lawsuit brought by the former girlfriend of U.S. Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick, who died of a stroke on Jan. 7, 2021. Sandra Garza, Sicknick’s former girlfriend and the representative of his estate, filed suit in January against […]

Two defendants in the Proud Boys seditious-conspiracy trial filed a motion in federal court to dismiss obstruction-related charges in light of a fractured U.S. Court of Appeals ruling on the law used to charge hundreds of Jan. 6 defendants. On April 8, attorneys for defendants Zachary Rehl and Ethan Nordean filed motions with U.S. District […]

A divided three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia on April 7 upheld the U.S. Department of Justice’s novel use of a felony evidence-tampering statute against Jan. 6 criminal-case defendants. The appeals judges issued a broad interpretation of the crime of “obstruction” that is almost certain to be appealed […]

At least 40 undercover police officers, informants, and federal agents monitored the Proud Boys on Jan. 6, 2021, a new federal court filing alleges. Proud Boys defendant Dominic Pezzola filed a motion on April 5 seeking to compel federal prosecutors to “reveal all informants, undercover operatives and other confidential human sources [CHSs] relating to the […]

WASHINGTON—An FBI special agent and federal prosecutors deny allegations from defense attorneys in the Proud Boys seditious conspiracy trial that a paid informant spied on the defendants and their attorneys. In a declaration filed on March 23 in U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly’s court, FBI Special Agent Kristina Spindel said the bureau never asked the […]

A dramatic new Metropolitan Police Department bodycam video shows how officers and medics from three police agencies worked for 15 minutes to try to revive a lifeless Rosanne Boyland after she was dragged feet-first through the Lower West Terrace tunnel on Jan. 6, 2021. The urgent efforts to restart Boyland’s heart were a stark contrast […]

News Analysis The unveiling of some of the 41,000 hours of video from Jan. 6, 2021, that was hidden from public view for more than two years has sparked a new national conversation about just how much still isn’t known about the Capitol incursion. Fox News host Tucker Carlson was given exclusive access by House […]

The face of the Jan. 6 incursion—the so-called “QAnon Shaman” Jacob Chansley—was peacefully escorted around the U.S. Capitol by police on Jan. 6, Fox News host Tucker Carlson alleged on March 6 in his first special based on exclusive access to 41,000 previously unseen hours of Capitol security video. Carlson showed CCTV security video of […]

Three undercover Metropolitan Police Department officers joined the march of protesters up the northwest side of the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021—including one who climbed over a barricade and pushed others toward the Capitol, and another who walked behind Ashli Babbitt and predicted that “someone will get shot,” according to newly disclosed court documents. New […]

Despite ruling that the Oath Keepers took concrete actions to overthrow the U.S. government on Jan. 6, 2021, an Alaska judge concluded on Dec. 23 that state Rep. David Eastman cannot be barred from office under the Alaska Constitution because he is a member of the Oath Keepers. Alaska Superior Court Judge Jack McKenna issued […]

Oath Keepers founder Elmer Stewart Rhodes III testified on Dec. 19 in an Alaska civil trial that he never ordered anyone into the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, and that the nearly yearlong federal prosecution of him amounts to “persecution by our political enemies.” Speaking from the Alexandria City Jail in Virginia, Rhodes told […]

The federal judge overseeing the Oath Keepers seditious-conspiracy trial in Washington, D.C., twice refused to allow defense testimony on Nov. 14 from an Oath Keeper and retired New York police sergeant who led the rescue of 16 U.S. Capitol Police officers on the east side of the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. Judge Amit Mehta watched […]

The U.S. Department of Justice is seeking to jail five members of a Texas family for their 52-minute walk through the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, under a plea deal for “parading, demonstrating or picketing in a Capitol building.” Members of the Munn family of Borger, Texas, did not commit violent acts, damage property, […]

Four Oath Keepers and an associate accused of seditious conspiracy on Jan. 6, 2021, filed an emergency motion for a change of trial venue, citing new research that nearly 70 percent of Washington respondents hold a negative view of the Oath Keepers, much higher than those in three other federal court districts. Attorneys for Oath […]

Defense attorneys in the Oath Keepers seditious-conspiracy trial renewed their request to block federal prosecutors from mentioning two hand grenades allegedly brought to the Washington area after they discovered that DNA found on the grenades does not belong to Florida Oath Keepers member Jeremy Brown. Attorneys for Oath Keepers defendants Kenneth Harrelson and Kelly Meggs […]

Defense attorneys want to depose a retired U.S. Army colonel and test pilot—among the longest serving members of the Oath Keepers—regarding the group’s long-standing role in providing security at events, civil disturbances, and natural disasters. Retired Col. John Siemens, 76, would provide exculpatory testimony benefitting the five defendants in the Oath Keepers seditious-conspiracy trial, but […]

Dr. Simone Gold, the founder of America’s Frontline Doctors who was jailed for 60 days for giving a speech on COVID-19 and medical freedom at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, is being released from federal detention two weeks early. Gold will be released from the Miami Federal Detention Center just in time for […]

Michael Stenger, the former U.S. Senate sergeant-at-arms who was in charge of Senate security during the breach of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, died on June 27. The circumstances and cause of Stenger’s death were not immediately clear. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) posted on Twitter that Stenger “was found dead today.” Stenger, […]

The Jan. 6 select committee launched a full-frontal assault on former President Donald J. Trump and his “riotous mob” of supporters on June 9, claiming Trump orchestrated the violence at the Capitol in early 2021 as part of a “coup” to remain in power and nullify the 2020 election results. The two top officials on […]

Capitol Police Lt. Michael Byrd produced no reports on his fatal shooting of Ashli Babbitt and refused to give an official statement to investigators, but he agreed to a “voluntary debriefing” in which he stated if the “mob of rioters” outside the Speaker’s Lobby at the Capitol gained entry, “it wasn’t going to go well.” […]

The trials of nine members of the Oath Keepers charged with seditious conspiracy and obstructing a government proceeding were moved back to September 26 and November 29 under a ruling issued by U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta in Washington D.C. on May 6. During a May 6 status conference, Judge Mehta agreed to a defense […]

Nearly three out of four District of Columbia residents are likely to find Jan. 6 defendants guilty in federal court, while 85 percent believe the events of Jan. 6 were criminal acts including insurrection, an attack, or a riot, a survey by two defense attorneys found. Results of the survey by Inlux Research + Analytics […]

At least 20 FBI and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives “assets” were embedded around the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, a defense attorney wrote in a court filing on April 12. The disclosure was made in a motion seeking to dismiss seditious conspiracy and obstruction charges against 10 Oath Keepers defendants in one […]

Eleven members of the Oath Keepers, including the group’s founder Stewart Rhodes, were indicted Wednesday by a federal grand jury in the District of Columbia for an alleged “seditious conspiracy” to attack the U.S. Capitol and prevent the certification of electoral votes from the 2020 presidential election. The indictment, returned Jan. 12 and unsealed Thursday, […]

The hardened-steel baton made the most disturbing sound as it bounced off Victoria White’s skull. It varied between a hollow click and a deeper snap, depending on where on her head the metal weapon made contact. “Please don’t beat her!” a man in the crowd yelled. It was chaos in the West Terrace tunnel entrance […]