New statistics from the Department of Justice show that FBI arrests on Jan. 6th fell in June, but the total for the first half of 2024 is still well above the same periods in 2023 and 2022.
According to the Department of Justice’s 42-month Jan. 6 report, the FBI arrested 15 people on Jan. 6 charges between June 6 and July 6, down from 33 the previous month and 37 from April to May.
The FBI has arrested 207 January 6th protesters in the first half of 2024, 42.5% more than the 119 arrests in the same period in 2023 and 37% more than the 130 arrests in 2022. This year began with a significant increase in arrests, and the trend has continued overall since then.
The Justice Department reported that the total number of arrests since early January 2021 is 1,472, up from 1,457 in June, 1,424 in May and 1,387 in April.
The FBI has made 403 arrests as of Jan. 6 since July 2023 and 617 arrests since July 2022, according to Justice Department data.
The most frequently charged misdemeanor, entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds, was used in 1,380 cases, or 94 percent of all Jan. 6 indictments.
Of those who pleaded guilty, 68.5 percent were to misdemeanor charges.
The most common felony, improper obstruction of an official proceeding, was listed in the previous report as involving 355 incidents. However, the Department of Justice changed the way it reports charges of violations of 18 U.S. Code §1512(c)(2) and no longer provides a cumulative total.
The Justice Department said in a July report that 259 people had been indicted on charges of obstruction of justice when the U.S. Supreme Court issued a June 28 ruling that significantly limited the application of corporate fraud laws in the Jan. 6 incident. Of those indicted as of June 28, 133 had been convicted, according to the report.
A flurry of petitions have been filed in federal district court in Washington, D.C., by defendants in the Jan. 6 convictions seeking resentencing, release from custody or to have their convictions vacated or their sentences expunged.
Just before 4 p.m. on January 6, 2021, a Metropolitan Police officer’s body camera captures a large crowd gathering on the Lower West Terrace and West Plaza of the U.S. Capitol.DC Metropolitan Police
The high court said the 20-year felony charge could only be applied if a defendant “impaired or attempted to impair the availability or integrity of any record, document, item or other thing for use in a formal proceeding.”
The Justice Department filed the obstruction of justice charges after protesters breached the U.S. Capitol, delaying a joint session of Congress after the House and Senate adjourned sessions as crowds swelled outside the building.
While the January 6 defendants, some in prison and some on probation, hailed the ruling as a major victory, the Department of Justice appears intent on upholding the charges under the Supreme Court’s narrow interpretation of Section 1512(c)(2).
More than 530 people have been charged with assaulting, resisting or obstructing certain police officers or personnel, including 157 people charged with using a deadly or dangerous weapon or causing serious injury to an officer, according to the report.
January 6th was the most extensive investigation in the history of the FBI.
About 875 people have pleaded guilty to the charges filed on Jan. 6, with 68.5% of those pleaded guilty to misdemeanors and 31.5% to felonies.
Of those who pleaded guilty to felonies, 139 were charged with assaulting police officers. Another 76 defendants pleaded guilty to charges of obstructing, impeding or impeding law enforcement during the riot. Of the 215 total defendants, 80 percent received prison sentences of up to 151 months.
Some 185 defendants were found guilty in contested trials, and a further 37 were convicted based on an agreed set of facts.
To date, 907 people have been tried and sentenced, with 62% of the defendants receiving prison sentences, 19% receiving house arrest, and 3.4% receiving both prison and imprisonment.
85 people were charged with destruction of government property and 65 defendants were charged with theft of government property.
The January 6 investigation is the largest and most far-reaching in the history of the FBI, and Justice Department officials have said it will continue. The Justice Department has until the statute of limitations expires on January 6, 2026 to indict individuals.
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