Protesters supporting U.S. President Donald Trump break into the U.S. Capitol on January 06, 2021 in Washington, DC.
Win McNamee | Getty Images
The number of arrests of people in connection with the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol by supporters of then-President Donald Trump has reached 500, Attorney General Merrick Garland said Thursday.
Garland said the tally of arrests now includes 100 people who have been charged with assaulting a federal law enforcement officer.
“Our efforts to bring criminal charges are not possible without the continued assistance of the American public,” Garland said in a statement. “To date, we have received their more than 200,000 digital tips.”
“I assure the American people that the Department of Justice will continue to follow the facts in this case and charge what the evidence supports to hold all January 6th perpetrators accountable.”
The defendants are being prosecuted in U.S. District Court in Washington.
The riot began shortly after a rally outside the White House by Trump and a number of his allies, who urged a crowd of thousands of people to march to the Capitol to protest proceedings confirming the election of Joe Biden as president.
Hundreds of people invaded the Capitol complex, both outside and inside, disrupting the joint session of Congress that was meeting that day.
Lawmakers and then-Vice President Mike Pence fled both chambers of Congress during the invasion.
Five people died in connection with the riot, including Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick, and more than 100 police officers were injured.
