Hundreds of Capitol riot prosecutions are in limbo as a DC court awaits Donald Trump’s return to the White House

WASHINGTON — It’s the further processing in the history of the Department of Justice, with reams of evidence, harrowing videos and hundreds of convictions of the rioters who broke into United States Capitol on January 6, 2021. Now, Donald Trump’s return to power has called into question the future of the more than 1,500 federal cases filed over the past four years.

The Jan. 6 trials, guilty pleas and sentencing have continued to move forward in federal court in Washington despite Trump’s promise to forgive the troublemakerswho has called “political prisoners” and claims that the “hostages” were treated too harshly.

In a statement Monday, Attorney General Merrick Garland said Justice Department prosecutors “have sought to hold accountable those criminally responsible for the January 6 attack on our democracy with relentless integrity.”

“They have conducted themselves in a manner that respects the rule of law and honors our obligation to protect the civil rights and liberties of everyone in this country,” Garland said.

Here’s a look at where prosecutions stand on the fourth anniversary of the Capitol riot and what could happen next:

More than 1,500 people across the United States have been charged with federal crimes related to the deadly riot. Hundreds of people who did not participate in destruction or violence were charged with only misdemeanors for illegally entering the Capitol. Others were charged with serious crimes, including assault for hitting police officers. The leaders of the Oath Keepers and Proud Boys extremist groups were convicted of seditious conspiracy for what prosecutors described as plots to use violence to stop the peaceful transfer of power from Trump, a Republican, to Joe Biden, a Democrat.

About 250 people have been convicted of crimes by a judge or jury after a trial. Only two people were acquitted of all charges by judges after bench trials. No jury has fully acquitted a Capitol riot defendant. At least 1,020 other people had pleaded guilty as of January 1.

More than 1,000 rioters have already been sentenced, and more than 700 received at least some time behind bars. The rest were given some combination of probation, community service, home detention or fines.

The longest sentence, 22 years, was for the former Enrique Tarrio, national president of Proud Boyswho was convicted of seditious conspiracy along with three lieutenants. A California man with a history of political violence received 20 years in prison for repeatedly attacking police with flagpoles and other improvised weapons during the riots. AND Stewart Rhodes, founder of Oath Keepers He is serving an 18-year prison sentence for seditious conspiracy and other crimes.

More than 100 Jan. 6 defendants are scheduled to stand trial in 2025, while at least 168 riot defendants will be sentenced this year.

Authorities have continued to make new arrests since Trump’s election victory. That includes people accused of assaulting police officers defending the Capitol.

Citing Trump’s promise of pardons, several defendants have attempted to delay their cases, with little success.

In denying one of those requests, U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth, nominated to the bench by Republican President Ronald Reagan, wrote: “This Court recently had the opportunity to discuss what effect the speculative possibility of a presidential pardon has on the timeline.” for a pending criminal matter. In short: little or nothing.”

One of the defendants who convinced a judge to postpone his trial, William Pope, told the court that “the American people gave President Trump a mandate to carry out the agenda he campaigned for, which includes ending to the January 6 prosecutions and pardon those who exercised the First Amendment.” rights in the Capitol.” The Pope has now asked the judge to allow him to travel to Washington to attend Trump’s inauguration on January 20.

Trump embraced the Jan. 6 rioters during the election campaign, downplaying the violence that was broadcast on live television and has been widely documented through video, testimony and other evidence in federal cases.

Trump has promised to begin granting pardons to the January 6 rioters on his first day in office. He has said he will consider people on a case-by-case basis, but has not explained how he will decide who will receive such help.

He has said that there may be “some exceptions”, if “someone was radical, crazy.” But he has not ruled out pardons for people convicted of serious crimes, such as assaulting police officers. When asked in a recent NBC News interview about the dozens of people who pleaded guilty to assaulting law enforcement, Trump responded, “Because they had no other choice.”

Many federal court judges in Washington have condemned the description of rioters as “political prisoners” and some have raised the alarm about possible pardons.

“No matter what ultimately happens with the Capital Riots cases now concluded and still pending, the true story of what occurred on January 6, 2021 will never change,” Judge Lamberth recently said in a statement when handing down the sentence.

US District Judge Carl Nichols, Trump’s nominee, has said It would be “beyond frustrating and disappointing” if Trump grants mass pardons to rioters.

In another case, U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta alluded to the prospect of a pardon for RhodesOath Keepers founder convicted of seditious conspiracy.

“The idea that Stewart Rhodes could be absolved of his actions is terrifying and should be for anyone who cares about democracy in this country,” said Mehta, who was nominated by Democratic President Barack Obama.

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Follow AP’s coverage of the Jan. 6 insurrection at https://apnews.com/hub/capitol-siege.