Where the investigation of the January 6 Capitol attack stands, in numbers: Department of Justice

Nearly 1,600 people have faced charges in the four years since a mob of President-elect Donald Trump’s supporters attacked the US Capitol, according to figures released by the US Attorney’s Office on Monday.

But one of the largest investigations in the history of the Justice Department now faces a future plagued by uncertainty.

Of the approximately 1,583 defendants whom prosecutors have charged in connection with the Capitol riot, 608 have faced charges of assaulting, resisting or interfering with law enforcement who were trying to protect the complex that day, the office said.

About 174 of those 608 were charged with using a deadly or dangerous weapon or causing serious injury to an officer.

And in an unusual move, the U.S. Attorney’s Office revealed that it is currently evaluating whether to file charges in approximately 200 cases referred to them by the FBI, about 60 of which involve potential felony charges involving allegations of assault or impediment to the application of the law.

While the U.S. Attorney’s Office has provided monthly “by the numbers” updates regarding the attack on the Capitol (detailing arrests, guilty pleas and sentences, among other figures), Monday’s update is the first to include an estimate of the number of uncharged cases being processed. evaluated by prosecutors.

It comes just days before Trump takes office for his second term and potentially makes good on his years-long public promises to pardon a large number of defendants on January 6, whom he has described as unfairly targeted “political prisoners.” by the government. Biden administration.

The two months since Election Day have already proven to be a time of great instability for the Justice Department’s Capitol riot cases, as prosecutors have tried to handle a growing number of newly charged emboldened seeking delays in their cases with the possible promise of pardons or Commutations on the horizon.

While Trump has promised to grant a series 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 broad those pardons will ultimately be.

Trump’s Justice Department is also expected to slow down or even completely close the ongoing investigation into the attack.

In figures released Monday, the U.S. Attorney’s Office made clear how many cases are pending before Trump’s inauguration, noting that 170 defendants who have already pleaded guilty or been found guilty are still awaiting sentencing. .

There remain approximately 300 cases in which an accused defendant has neither pleaded guilty nor been found guilty, approximately 180 of which have been charged with assaulting or hindering police.