Transcripts For CSPAN3 U.S. 20240704

Courtrooms around the country but not seen by the public. It has been three years since a violent mob attacked our capitol. Much work has been done to hold members of the mob responsible for the crimes they committed. The prosecutions have necessarily focused on the actions of the individuals charged. Not the collective harm done by the thousands of people who were simultaneously committing crimes that day. It is critical, though, that we remember the collective harm that was done on january 6, 2021 and understand how it happened so that we can ensure it never happens again. Also on the occasion of this anniversary, we request the publics continued assistance in identifying individuals who committed crimes on january 6, 2021 who have yet to be identified. Particularly the roughly 80 still unidentified individuals who were believed to have committed acts of violence against Law Enforcement officers. In furtherance of bringing these people to justice, we will be highlighting some of the most serious assaults that have yet to be charged and providing photographs of the unidentified suspects that the fbi has prepared. Before turning to what remains to be done, though, lets start with the events of january 6, 2021 and the collective harm that was done that day. The evidence admitted in court a fraction of which is highlighted in this presentation provides a encumbrance a picture of the days harrowing events. On january 6th, 2021, the United States lost control of the grounds around its capitol and most of the capitol itself. Thousands of people descended on the capitol and hundreds of people within the mob used force and violence to overwhelm the vastly outnumbered Law Enforcement officers protecting the building. And those who work with within it. In scenes often reminiscent of a medieval battle. Officers medieval battle, officers engaged in handtohand combat with members of this invading force. Many of whom carried dangerous weapons including firearms, chemical sprays, tasers, stabbing weapons and makeshift weapons across the capitol and in the capital itself. 140 officers guarding the capitol that day reported physical injury. But we know from talking to the hundreds of officers guarding the u. S. 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 days events. The siege of the capitol is likely the largest single day mass assault of Law Enforcement officers in our nations history. Our nations history. A number of Law Enforcement officers who were injured have left their prior positions or art so they stay physically unable to continue to serve the police community. With nearly 900 people convicted to date of crimes committed on january 6, 2021, we are at a point in our prosecutions where thousands of photographs, videos and communications have been a sculpted have been accepted by courts. We want to share with you some of the evidence so you have an understanding of the crimes that occurred. Before getting into the specifics, when you have spent as much time as we have spent reviewing evidence, you were drawn to the big picture. What the events of january 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. The individual rights we all hold so dear are only pried as long as our democracy continues to exist and will remain a nation committed to upholding the rule of law and peaceful transitions of power after each free and fair election. We must remain vigilant in pursuing Justice Without fear or favor and holding those accountable who threaten our sacred institutions and refuse to adhere to the laws in this country. That is the why of these prosecutions and is why we continue to pursue this mission without fear or favor and it is why we continue to seek the assistance of the american people. January 6, 2021 was not a date selected at random. It was a date of particular significance to our democracy. The constitution directs each state to select electors who will vote for the president and empowers congress to select the day and time that these electors will report their votes. Congress in turn passed a law setting each january 6th after a president ial election as the date when it will receive the votes of the electors and specifically identified 1 p. M as the hour on january 6 when the votes are to be received. In our modern elections, these electors almost without fail vote for the candidate who won the popular vote in their respective states. This constitutional provision and the laws passed in support of the provision and trying enshrine a principle dating back to the founding of our country, the peaceful transfer of power. 200 years prior to january 6, 2021, our country has routinely and peacefully held this on vote formalizing the results of the election no matter how hotly contested the election was and we have had no shortage of fiercely contested elections in our nations history. In late 2020 many of the people disappointed with the results of the 2020 president ial election were aware of this constitutionally required proceeding on january 6 2021 and some began setting about to stop it. The story of the siege of the capitol on january 6 began in the days and the weeks following the election when a number of our fellow citizens were radicalized into believing that they needed to use any means necessary including force and violence to stop Joseph R Biden junior from becoming president. One of these groups was the the proud boys. A group that describes itself as a prowestern Fraternal Organization for men who refuse to apologize for creating the modern world, a. K. A. Western chauvinists. Some of the rallies and protests that proud boys have attended have attended have attended have resulted in violence involving members of the group. Within a few days of the 2020 president ial election, it became clear that joe biden had won the election and was this countrys president elect. As the press began reporting this fact, Senior Leaders of proud boys took to social media and called for resisting the outcome. The then National Chair chairman of the organization bluntly and ominously warned on social media if biden steals this election, the proud boys will be political prisoners, we wont go quietly, i promise. In late december, 2020, he and a number of other Leaders Within the Proud Boys Organization formed a special chapter of the proud was that was full of socalled rally boys who agreed to follow the commands of the leadership. Toio handpicked a Leadership Team for the group and task the Leadership Team with recruiting trusted men who were prepared to travel. The first and only event for which they planned was the certification of the Electoral College proceeding on january 6, 2021 in d. C. The Leadership Team successfully recruited nearly 100 proud boys for the effort. Helped to coordinate certain recruits travel and rais money raise money to purchase paramilitary gear and supplies including tactical vests, protective equipment and radio equipment. After successfully recruiting and organizing these handpicked the proud boys, tario posted on new years day 2021 messages on social media that read lets bring this new year with one word in mind, revolt, and later new years revolution. And lords of war j6 j20. In private encrypted message groups created for members of of the special chapter, its members openly discuss storming the capitol and other assaults on Law Enforcement officers. The hand selected men of the special chapter were directed to meet near the Washington Monument at 10 a. M. On on the january 6. Morning of january 6, 2021 a group of approximately 100 proud boys members gathered near the Washington Monument there was a First Amendment protected rally at the ellipse of the white house. Where speakers were slated to address the same grievance that the proud boys leaders had with the 2020 president ial election. We have First Amendment protected rallies in the district on almost a daily basis and all of them almost all of them are peaceful rallies like the one that occurred at the ellipse that day. The proud boys did not go to the ellipse. Instead around 10 30 a. M. , the leadership of this january 6 the proud boys chapter marched away from the plan planned speeches and they marched to the capital riling themselves and others along the way. [indiscernible] cries of 1776 could be heard throughout the day on january 6, 2021, 1776 is of course the year our Founding Fathers declared their independence from their sovereign, the king of england. January 6th, 2021 was used as revolution this time against a government formed under the democratic system created by the Founding Fathers. Once they arrived at the capital, they walked around it giving them an opportunity to probe its defenses. The march revealed that the grounds surrounding the capitol had been blocked off with bike racks and snow fencing and that these bike racks and fences had signs on the morning the general public that they were not allowed to enter. The grounds were restricted because of the certification proceeding that was to take place that day and the people who would be on the grounds for it including the then Vice President. The outer perimeter formed by these rocks and fences is called the restricted perimeter. One of the areas the proud boy passed is as they marched around the capital was the piece circle. What they saw when they passed shortly after 11 20 a. M. Was a single officer guarding this major entry point to the Capitol Grounds. As they past, the proud boys rallied their men again invoking 1776. [indiscernible] let us remind those who have forgotten what that means. [indiscernible] the proud boys did not stop when they saw this minimally guarded entrance point. Instead, they continued to march around the capitol the proud boys returned to the peace circle at 12 50 p. M. Minutes before the certification proceeding was scheduled to start. Consistent with their discussions in private encrypted messages they riled up the small crowd guarded near gathered near the u. S. Capitol, normies as they called them, and used them as force multipliers to overpower the hopelessly outnumbered officers guarding the capital and the people who worked there. Days after the attack, a member of the proud boys leadership, joe biggs, brazenly explained the plan on a podcast bragging that when the number of people trying to take a building dramatically outnumber the people protecting it the building will be taken. Law enforcement found this recording in a file entitled civil war on a device belonging to mr. Biggs. [indiscernible] if there is three or you or four of you and you are outnumbered one, are you going to sit there . Youre going to get your ass beats. There is nothing you can do about them. The straightforward plan was made all the more likely to succeed by two events that occurred around the time that the prod was walked back toward the p circle. Explosive devices were found outside the dncs and rncs headquarters. And there were what turned out to be false reports of an explosion at the Capitol South metro station. Capitol Police Officers responded to these other locations further depleting the already too few officers outside the capitol. Moments before they arrived at the circle, this is what the crowd just outside the restricted area looked like. [indiscernible] this was near minutes before the certification was scheduled to start. These people were just milling about and not making any effort to illegally enter the restricted area before the proud boys harness the anger that was swirling around the crowd and amassed outside the capitol. Within moments of arriving at the circle, the proud boys were able to amplify and channel that rage. [indiscernible] despite being newly formed and relatively few in number, the mob quickly and brutally overwhelmed the dozen or so officers guarding the first fence line. [indiscernible] the joint session of congress was gambling was gaveling. Into order around the time of this breach. After overpowering this line, the mob was able to quickly surge past the unguarded second fence line on the pennsylvania walkway before the officers could rally to its protection. When officers regrouped and formed a new police line, closer to the capitol, leaders of the proud boys tore down a metal fence and unleashed the crowd to advance further towards the capitol. [indiscernible] with these barriers breached on the west lawn, the mob was able to gain access to the base of the capitol, where a temporary structure had been built to host the inauguration that was set to take place in just two weeks time. The mob began assaulting the officers. Desperately trying to maintain control of the plaza. The evidence we have introduced at trials includes the radio transmissions of the officers protecting the capitol. As an officer saw the assaults, he frantically called for nonlethal weapons to try to stop the assault of him and his fellow officers. [indiscernible] i need a team and position in position above me. With the clear path opened by the proud boys to this area, a sea of humanity was able to amass at the place where the peaceful transfer of power was set to occur. January 6th, 2021 was a cold and windy day, as so many january days are in the district of columbia. The flags members of the mob carried blew in the wind. The scene looked like a medieval advancing horde marching under banner. Here, the mobs progress was briefly stalled. The police who had fallen back were able to regroup and reinforcements from the metropolitan Police Department arrived. Despite being vastly outnumbered, they stopped the mobs advance. This stalemate continued for roughly an hour. As the mob continued to balloon in size, with many from the now completed rally at the ellipse joining the fray. The proud boys, though, ensured that the Law Enforcements success was shortlived. After several of its leaders had regrouped away from the police line, key leaders of the proud boys again moved forward and reassembled at the base of a concrete set of stairs that was guarded by groups of officers, vastly outnumbered by the crowd. A proud boys member at the front initiated the push and other proud boys and members of the crowd surged forward behind them as the mob advanced up the stairs toward the window and doors that provided access to the Capitol Building itself. [indiscernible] as is evidenced by the number of members of the mob who flashed the proud boy hands sign when this breach occurred, this breach was a proud boy operation through and through. [indiscernible] i would note that the evidence im sharing today is among the substantial amount of evidence admitted in courts against individuals affiliated with the proud boys who were charged with crimes related to january 6, 2021. To date, dozens of these proud boys have been convicted, including tario biggs and two others who were convicted of a host of charges, including seditious conspiracy. Lets pause for a moment and talk about the weapons that the crowd possessed and the weapons that they used on january 6th, 2021. We will never know all the weapons that were on the Capitol Grounds that day because very few in the mob were actually arrested on january 6. There was not enough Law Enforcement to defend the capitol and the people in it let alone to arrested thousands of people who would legally who illegally entered the Capitol Grounds. In those limited incidents where the police did briefly detain someone they quickly realized that the situation was so dangerous that they could not safely process the arrest and often they had to let the person they detained go and sometimes these people rejoined the advancing mob. Despite the fact that almost none of the members of the mob were searched that day, we have a thorough investigation established beyond reasonable doubt that scores of those present were armed. The evidence has established the following weapons were present at the capitol on the grounds. Firearms, oc spray, tasers, edged weapons, including a sword, axes, hatchets, and knives. Makeshift weapons include a destroyed office furniture, baseball bats, hockey stick, flag poles, and knuckle gloves. And finally, Police Equipment some of which they stole from officers and others they brought with them because they were Law Enforcement officers themselves. With the exception of the firearms, members of the mob used or brandished each of these kinds of weapons that day. Maybe none more so than the oc spray. Commonly referred to as pepper spray. These are sprays designed to irritate a persons eyes and breathing passage so much that it disables them. And some members of the mob even used more powerful formulations of the spray that was intended for use against bears. I mentioned that january 6 was wendy. Was windy. These winds shifted throughout the day. As the mob sprayed officers with chemicals and the officers deployed pepper spray to try to stop the mobs violence, the volume of spray in the air and the shifting winds ensured that most officers who spent time on the front line were exposed to this terrible spray. Returning to the mob siege of the capitol, it is important to note that the mob also breached the perimeter on the east side of the capitol. With this breach the mob began encircling the officers protecting the capitol. With thousands of people illegally massed on capital Capitol Grounds, the building would soon fall. A group on the west side of the capital including members of the the proud boys charged officers creating a hole in the police line guarding the staircase to the upper west terrace which leads to the first floor of the capitol. [indiscernible] once there, the mob made its way to a door near the senate chamber. A member of the proud boys once again played a pivotal role proud boy dominic biza had stolen a riot shield from a Capital Police offer Capitol Police officer he had assaulted earlier that j. He advanced up the stairs with the shield and used the shield to break a window near the senate door at 2 13 p. M. [indiscernible] members of the mob climbed through the shattered window panes, opened the door and other members of the mob flooded and flooded in. He celebrated with a selfie style video recorded from inside the capitol with what he called a victory smoke. Victory smoke in the capitol, boys. This is awesome. I knew we could take this. This breach by the mob the first of many on that day was the First Time Since the war of 1812 that an invading force had defied the United States and broken into its capitol. Ok. The capitol is in breach. By the time this was a breach occurred, the senate and house representatives had ended their joint session and were each in session in their respective chambers. Almost immediately after the breach occurred, the Senate Suspended its proceedings and the Vice President was quickly evacuated from the senate. The advancing mob came in with came within feet of the Vice President as he evacuated. And the heroic efforts by Law Enforcement prevented a further catastrophe. The house continued in session until approximately 2 30 as i will explain shortly, the additional time the house remained in session would prove critical to the days events the days events. The breach of the Senate Wing Door was not the only time the capitol was breached that day. Eight other locations were breached. We will provide examples of just three of these breaches. The east portico window. [indiscernible] the upper house door. And the north door. [indiscernible] the most notorious of the other breaches is the breach of the east rotunda. It began at around 2 p. M. When rioters having received news of the mobs attack on the west front broke through the barricades and pushed the line of Police Officers up the steps and then all the way to the rotunda doors where they surrounded and attacked the police. Ultimately breaching the doors with the assistance of rioters already inside the building who opened the doors, effectively outflanking the officers. After a first wave of rioters flooded in, the police managed to shut the doors, only to have them breached for a second time. The breaches of the rotunda door were notorious not just because of the number of rioters who were able to enter as a result, but because they are associated with one of the most infamous scenes from january 6, 2021, a stack of individuals marching in military formation up the stairs on the east side of the capitol before entering the rotunda doors. They were part of an Organization Called the oathkeepers, the oathkeepers explicitly focused on recruiting current and former military Law Enforcement and First Responder personnel to their ranks. The organizations name alludes to the oath sworn by members of the military and police to defend the constitution from all enemies foreign and domestic. On their website, the oathkeepers decare that they will not obey unconstitutional orders. Their leader, stuart rhodes, was the arbiter of what was and was not constitutional and he and his followers had firmly adopted the false claim that it would be unconstitutional for president elect biden to be sworn in as president. In the months between the 2020 president ial election and january 6, 2021 rhodes and other oathkeepers began planning to stop the lawful transition of president ial power. The messages became more dire as january 6 approached. In late december he stated that if the president elect biden were able to assume the presidency, we will have to do a bloody massively bloody resolution against them. He urged President Trump to use military force to stop the waffle transfer of president ial power describing january 6 as a constitutional deadline to do so. In reference to the congressional proceeding that was supposed to occur on january 6, he wrote i think congress will screw him, in reference to President Trump. The only chance we have is if we convince him that it will be torches and pitchforks time if they dont do the right thing. But i dont think they will listen. Rhodes ominously warned that if congress and trump failed to act, then we will. He organized a force that could do just that. Arranging for roughly two dozen oathkeepers to be in dc in the area on january 6th 2021 and for stock piled weapons to be brought to the area as well. A witness who saw this arsenal of weapons testified at rhodes trial that he had not seen that many weapons in one location since he was in the military. Most of his forces deployed on the morning of january 6 two d. C. To d. C. A small number remained at a hotel in virginia with the arsenal firearms the group route waiting from the order from their leader roads to bring the arms of the district. Ultimately the oathkeepers did not need firearms to reach the breached the capitol. As rhodes watched the cats unfold on the grounds and saw the mom advancing, he wrote to his followers, the founding generation stormed the Governors Mansion in massachusetts and tarred and feathered his tax collectors. And they seized and dumped tea in water they didnt fire on them but they street five. Thats where we are now. Next comes our lexington. Its coming. Rhodes rallied his followers to the Capitol Grounds as the buildings are to be breached. The first of his followers to arrive formed the stack and marched on the still closed east rotunda doors. Shortly after the stack made it to the door, it was breached. Other oathkeepers made it to the capitol to join the thousands of others who unlawfully entered the unprotected building. One of his fellow oathkeepers observed how terrified the members of Congress Inside the building must be. Rhodes response . Latin for thus always with tyrants. The words john wells booth set after he assassinated president lincoln as he jumped out of the president ial box. Indeed he admitted when he was crossexamined at trial that he intended to use force to oppose a government if president elect biden was sworn into office. These are the kinds of conspiracies that made the spark and the crown on january 6, 2021 spread like wildfire. Again, the evidence i am sharing today is among the substantial amount of evidence admitted in courts against individuals affiliated with the oathkeepers, who were charged with crimes related to january 6, 2021. To date, over 20 oathkeepers have been convicted, including rhodes. Who was convicted of a host of charges. Including seditious conspiracy. Before returning to the events of the day and what happened inside of the building an Important Note when it comes to our prosecutions about those who remained outside the building. We have used our prosecutorial discretion to primarily focus on those who entered the building, engaged in violent or corrupt conduct on Capitol Grounds. But if a person normally 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. Once the mob was inside the building, it flowed to both the senate wing of the building and the house of representatives wing of the building. Some used staircases in the senate wing to get access to the second floor of the building which is where the main entrance of the senate is located. While the former Vice President had been quickly evacuated shortly after the initial breach, the evacuation of the senators moved at a slightly slower pace and the mob was moving quickly enough through the senate wing that it couldve come facetoface with senators who were fleeing the senate floor. Fortunately, officer Eugene Goodman stood between the tip of the mob and the evacuating senators. His welldocumented actions that day were critical in providing enough time for the senate to be completely evacuated. [indiscernible] the senators were successfully removed from the chambers before the mob could trap them. Other members of the mob though went to the stairs found in a room in the center of the first floor of the building called the crypt. [indiscernible] as you can see, the mob was able to make quick work of the few officers trying to form a line protecting the crypt. From the stairs in the crypt, the crowd reached the centerpiece of the capitol, the iconic rotunda, there, those who entered from the west side of the building ultimately joined with those who entered from the east side of the building. The few officers who were in the rotunda had no chance at controlling the mob that had descended on them. Some members of the mob who passed through the rotunda headed in the direction of the senate. Joining the members of the mob who had climbed the stairs that were closer to the Senate Wing Door. The evacuation of the senate left the senate floor unguarded. Like an invading army, members of the mob streamed into the home of what has been recognized as the worlds greatest deliberative body and took control, rifling through the papers of senators, disrespecting the desks where former president s and other lions of our nation sat when they served in the senate, and taking control of the senate dais where the Vice President had earlier then presiding. Events were even graver in the house of representatives. Before turning to those events, a word about the venom that was in the air that day. Numerous members of the mob had cried out for lawmakers to be turned over to them, regardless of Political Party or affiliation. Their collective cries sounding like those of a lynch mob seeking to impart their own perverted vision of justice. The two lawmakers whose names were shouted the most were the then Vice President , mike pence, and the then speaker of the house, nancy pelosi. I say we should have been doing this a long time ago. [indiscernible] pelosi, all those people. [indiscernible] fuck all these people. [indiscernible] [indiscernible] we are going to drag you through the streets. Killed in the streets. We are not going to have the election and our country stolen. If we find out we are going to drag your ass through the streets. [indiscernible] [indiscernible] for the First Time Since 1817, that capitol was stormed and taken, they had to run congressmen and senators out of the building with black bags over their heads. Black bags. Why black bags . Because the crowd is so irate, we probably would have murdered them. Fortunately, we will never know if this member of the mob is correct about what would have happened, had the mob inside the capitol captured a lawmaker. But scenes like the ones we just saw strongly support this belief. A substantial portion of the mob marched on the house of representatives, they encountered a line of officers in a hallway leading toward the chamber. Led by a rioter wielding a flag pole as a weapon, they searched surged forward, pushed the officers back into a Narrow Passage leading to the House Chamber doors and the officers eventually had to escape from the door. [indiscernible] dude, dude, dude, dude, youre not helping. Youre not helping. [indiscernible] its too late for that. They dont listen [indiscernible] officers inside the chamber barricaded the door, and along with a member of congress, stood guard, confronting the mob just on the other. The door was so secure, that the mob could not breach it. Apparently frustrated by their inability to gain access, several members of the mob broke off and looked for an alternative entrance. They found one. The speakers entrance to the house of representatives. They found that the hallway doors leading to this entrance were also lightly guarded with just a few officers standing watch. Just to recap, all the mob had collectively done to get to this point on Capitol Grounds, they had broken no fewer than a dozen fence lines or lines of officers meant to prevent illegal access, taking control of the grounds around the capitol, they buy force broke to no fewer than nine entry points, they had broken lines in the crypt, the rotunda, and elsewhere within the building and temporarily wrested control over most of the building from the United States arrested control over most of the building from the United States. The situation escalated quickly as the ever growing mob watched members of congress evacuate the chamber and demanded that the office step aside. One particularly violent member of the mob bashed the windows of the swinging door with his fists. [indiscernible] this was a scene around this time inside the house of the representatives. [indiscernible] the House Chamber. The gallery. 12 to 15 members of congress. Eventually, the officers guarding the glass door that we just saw had to give way. Having taken control of the hallway, members of the mob effectively had the floor of the house of representatives surrounded controlling doors to the chambers two major exits. All that stood between these members and the tip of a violent mob that had fought and intimidated its way to the floor of the house of representatives was a woodframe glass door, a stack of furniture, and roughly a dozen Law Enforcement officers. In short, the violent mob had made it to these members last line of defense. Thats what im saying. [indiscernible] lets go [indiscernible] as a member of the mob began climbing through the broken glass of one of the doors, an officer protecting these members pointed a gun at the person and fired. As the sound of a gunshot reverberated around the capitol, the Law Enforcement officer who heard it reported it. Upon hearing these reports of gunfire, the Law Enforcement officers protecting trapped elected officials instructed them to take their p ins pins identifying them as members of congress off so that it would make it harder for the mob to identify them. Take your pins off. Take your pins off. Pins off. The mob did not make it to the house floor. While it did not claim control of the remaining portions of the capitol, they did not easily give up control of the portions of the capitol it captured and rioters continue to try to overpower police lines throughout the building and advance further. As Law Enforcement reinforcements arrived, they had to painstakingly remove on a room basis the numerous members of the mob who remains and they did not all go quietly. This was a process that took hours, and while these hours unfolded, numerous congressional staffers and members of the press remained hidden in rooms and offices in which they had locked themselves for protection. Not knowing to bring their weights their waits, which must have felt like they lasted eternities, whether a member of the mob would find them and harm them. There was one part of the capitol that the mob notably failed to breach, an area that was dubbed the lower west tunnel. If you have watched a president ial inauguration, you will immediately recognize this part of the capitol and the inauguration stage. This is what the area looks like on a typical Inauguration Day by tradition, the president elect and other government officials gather in the crypt of the capitol and then walked down a set of stairs to the temporary inauguration stage. It is literally the path one walks to the peaceful transfer of power. This is what the path looked like on january 6, 2021. As the mob began surging to the door leading up to the crypt, one of the metropolitan Police Department reinforcement units prepared to defend the tunnel. It was an elite unit that had experienced with civil disorder. The battle command from their the battle cry from their commander was quite clear. [indiscernible] hes got a weapon in his hands, ok . [indiscernible] we are not losing the capitol today. Some of the bloodiest fighting of the day occurred in this tunnel. An officer was crushed in a door within the hallway, numerous members of the mob used spray against the officers. The mob through makeshift weapons at the officers. Others had officers with weapons that they carried. And one member of the mob even set off a firework. Tragically, a member of the mob died as the mob tried to press its way into the tunnel. An officer was dragged out into the crowd and beaten. Notably, he was one of at least six officers who were drugg into drug into the crowd and beaten over the course of the days events. The tunnel, the pathway to the peaceful trans transition of power, held that day. It was not reached. Many of the writers were proud to discuss the crimes they committed on january 6, 2021. After taking part in the siege of the capitol, they shared messages with their friends and on social media bragging about how they stormed the capitol and forced their way into the senate and the house and muscled the cops back like spartans. Stewart rhodes, the leader of the oath keepers, ominously warned patriots entering their own capitol to send a message to the traders is nothing prepared to whats coming. A few days later, he added, if he is in reference to President Trump not going to do the right thing, he is just going to let himself be removed illegally, then we should have brought rifles on january 6, we could have fixed it right then and there, id hang pelosi from the lamppost. Indeed, in a number of cases, we have tried cases we have tried, some of the most damming evidence has been the defendants own words during, before and after the events of january 6, 2021. The admissions after the fact are perhaps the most jarring. Having had time to reflect on their crimes that struck at our very democracy, the defendants expressed pride, not remorse. The attack is unlike anything we have ever seen. The capitol was taken by force and the government could not conduct business that was required by the constitution to conduct. Members of congress and their staff were forced to flee and those who could not flee had to hide. Officers were assaulted on a scale we had never seen. And many of those officers continue to suffer from the injuries they sustained that day. There was a range of criminal conduct among those who were in the mob. At a high level though members of the mob who knowingly trespassed on the Capitol Grounds can be divided into two categories those who used violence and those who rode the coattails of others who used violence, using the excess they were provided to commit their own crimes. As with all criminal matters, those charged with a crime are presumed innocent unless and until the government has proven their guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. This unprovoked and relentless attack overall has been proven in court again and again, in trial after trial, with evidence like the evidence i have shared with you today. The United States Attorneys Office for the district of columbia along with Many Department of justice colleagues and Law Enforcement partners from around the country have been working tirelessly to bring to justice individuals responsible for the siege of the capitol. We have worked closely with Law Enforcement to review thousands upon thousands of hours of video and an enormous number of digital and social media to determine who committed these crimes and the appropriate charges to bring against each defendant charged. This process is arduous, painstaking and thorough. It is also done appreciating that while the mission is important, protecting the rights of witnesses, victims and defendants is paramount. The departments work is not to win at all costs, it is to do justice for all. That is why for example this prosecution also includes what is likely the most robust criminal discovery project in the departments history, showcasing the offices commitment to the constitutional precepts of fairness and integrity. And it is of course why the government will continue to bear the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt for each defendant charged. No defendant can or will be convicted based on general evidence of what occurred on january 6, 2021. Instead, the government must identify evidence specific to the individual charged establishing beyond a reasonable doubt that that individual committed crimes on january 6, 2021, exactly as the government has done in nearly 900 cases to date. These convictions include 149 people convicted of assaulting or resisting or impeding officers or employees and 41 of these individuals were convicted of using a deadly or dangerous weapon or causing Bodily Injury to an officer in connection with these assaults. There are still people who have not yet been held accountable for similar results. Many citizens from around the country have already come forward to identify the individuals connected with the january 6 attacks, as a result of these tips, scores of individuals have been identified and will soon be prosecuted for violent acts at the capitol and other violations of federal law. The publics help is still needed. More than 80 people are still wanted and unidentified for acts of violence at the capitol. Today, we will post a list of individuals most wanted by the fbi for violence at the capital the capitol, calling for any help the public can provide in identifying them including the following, the statute of limitations, that is the deadline by which we must bring charges, runs on january 5, 2026 for these and the other yet to be charged crimes that occurred on january 6, 2021. In trial after trial, officers have recounted in chilling testimony the ferocity of the battle to hold the capitol and the fear they felt they would never see their families again. The thousands of employees who work in the capital experienced the same terror. Not just the politicians but the thousands of saffers just trying to serve their country. These Public Servants have described fleeing for their lives and cowering in hiding spaces to avoid the fury of the mob. Some have left their job out of fear of being attacked again. Those involved in the siege of the capitol descended upon washington, d. C. From nearly every state in our union. It cannot be emphasized enough that had their plans succeeded, our system of government grounded in democratic ideals and the rule of law, would have been in peril. I want to take you back to the Capitol Rotunda and how it looked on january 6, 20 to anyone. January 6, 2021. If you can take your eyes off the chaos occurring on the floor, you will notice the rotunda is lined with portraits and there was a portrait that is cut off. It is a portrait of general washington. Who had just led an army that was untimely loyal to him resigning his military commission and giving up control of the military, not using it to install himself as leader of the country whose independence he had just won, instead, he submitted to the democratic process, he was twice elected president of our new nation, after serving two terms as president , he voluntarily relink wished relinquished control again. Even though many of his fellow americans would have been happy to have him serve as president for life. A de facto monarch. There was no precedent prior to this moment for the voluntary relinquishment of such power. As he handed over the reigns to his successor, john adams, the american experiment began in earnest. We cannot replace votes and deliberation with violence and intimidation. Our great democratic experiment requires nurturing and a shared sense of the importance of protecting its continued existence through both laws and norms. Without a shared commitment to the rule of law, our future remains in question. We have seen that shared commitment though in our prosecutions, where countless fellow citizens have prioritize our country over relationships with coworkers, family and friends, doing their part to hold those who committed crimes on january 6 accountable for their conduct. And we continue to call upon our fellow americans to provide the invaluable assistance that they have been providing in connection with this prosecution. Thank you very much for attending today. [captions Copyright National cable satellite corp. 2024] [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. Visit ncicap. Org] january 6 capitol attack. This is an hour. United states of america versus donald j. Trump. [indiscernible] good morning. Before you get started can