Capitol Hill attackers still being punished

ISLAMABAD: Since a mob of Trump supporters breached the Capitol Hill building, more than 1,030 people have been charged in connection with the insurrection, and around 570 have pleaded guilty. However, after the attempted insurrection, a significant number of rioters are still awaiting their sentencing. According to reports, around 47% of those arrested have received criminal sentences, while the rest are waiting for their trials or haven’t yet reached plea agreements. The federal investigation in the US has led to a slew of high-profile arrests and convictions, even as former president Trump and his allies accused the DOJ of unfair prosecutions. According to a report by TIME, the longest sentence given to anyone charged in the January 6 riot to date went to far-right Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes, who was sentenced on May 25 to 18 years in prison after being convicted of seditious conspiracy for his role in helping orchestrate the pro-Trump attack on the Capitol. According to another report by Axios, over 900 defendants have been charged with entering or remaining in a restricted federal building or grounds, including 103 who face charges for entering a restricted area with a dangerous or deadly weapon. Almost 346 people have been charged with assaulting, resisting, or impeding officers or employees, including 108 who face charges for using a deadly or dangerous weapon or causing serious bodily injury to an officer, according to a TIME report. Whereas 309 have been charged with corruptly obstructing, influencing, or impeding an official proceeding, or attempting to do so. Further, 55 have been charged with conspiracy, including conspiracy to obstruct a congressional proceeding, conspiracy to obstruct law enforcement during a civil disorder, conspiracy to injure an officer, or some combination of the three. Moreover, 149 defendants have pleaded guilty to felonies, including 61 who pleaded guilty to assaulting law enforcement officers and four who pleaded guilty to seditious conspiracy. 421 have pleaded guilty to misdemeanours.

Around eighty defendants have been found guilty at contested trials, whereas 16 have been convicted following an “agreed-upon set of facts,” as per the DOJ, reports Axios. At a recent town hall on CNN, Trump reiterated his vow to pardon rioters if he’s re-elected and said that “a couple of them probably got out of control.” He also denied that it took him three hours to tell Capitol rioters to go home on Jan. 6, which is contradicted by his public tweets that day.