Editors Note: An earlier version of this story mischaracterized U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Matthew Graves’ remarks about the Jan. 6 prosecutions. He said the DOJ could have but did not prosecute thousands of protestors who entered restricted areas on the Capitol grounds but did not enter the building or engage in violence.
The Justice Department says its prosecutors could have but did not target “thousands” of Jan. 6 protesters who gathered in “restricted” areas around the Capitol three years ago, regardless of whether they participated in violent acts or entered the Capitol building.
U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Matthew Graves said late last week during a DOJ press conference that the Justice Department has largely focused its criminal prosecutions on individuals who entered the Capitol or assaulted law enforcement officers on Jan. 6, 2021, when lawmakers were certifying the 2020 presidential election.
“An important note about those who remained outside the [Capitol] building,” Mr. Graves said. “We have used our prosecutorial discretion and to primarily focus on those who entered the building, on those who engaged in violent or rough conduct on Capitol grounds.”
DC U.S. Attorney Matthew Graves is making clear that the DOJ is now going to target Americans who were around the Capitol on J6 but did not enter the building pic.twitter.com/bj4i3QfHe9
— ALX 🇺🇸 (@alx) January 6, 2024
Mr. Graves added, “If a person knowingly entered a restricted area without authorization, they had already committed a federal crime. Make no mistake, thousands of people [were] occupying the area that they were not authorized to be present in in the first place.”
Over 1,230 people have been charged with federal crimes in the capitol riot. This includes misdemeanor offenses such as trespassing to felonies such as assaulting police officers and seditious conspiracy.
About 730 people pled guilty to charges, while an additional 170 have been convicted of at least one charge at a trial decided by a judge or a jury, according to an Associated Press database.
President Biden, during remarks at Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, Saturday, boasted about the number of Jan. 6 defendants who have been sentenced to prison.
“Since that day more than 1,200 people have been charged for assaulting the Capitol. More than 900 have been convicted or pleaded guilty,” Mr. Biden said. “Collectively to date, they have been sentenced to more than 840 years in prison.”
He added, “And what has Trump done? Instead of calling them ‘criminals,’ he’s called these insurrectionists ‘patriots.’ … And he promised to pardon them if he returns to office.”
Former President Donald Trump rallied his base in Iowa on the eve of the Jan. 6 anniversary.
“The J6 hostages, I call them. Nobody has been treated ever in history so badly as those people nobody’s ever been treated in our country,” Mr. Trump said noting he would grant clemency to a “large portion” of those Jan. 6 defendants who served time.
The FBI’s Tampa field office announced on Saturday the bureau arrested three Jan. 6 “fugitives” during a pre-dawn raid.
Authorities took Jonathan Daniel Pollock, Olivia Michele Pollock and Joseph Daniel Hutchinson III into custody.
The defendants are scheduled to appear in Federal Court in Ocala, Florida, on Monday.
Wire services contributed to this report.
• Kerry Picket can be reached at kpicket@washingtontimes.com.
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