Four years on, Capitol riot prosecutions are in limbo as Trump’s return awaited

Washington: It’s the largest prosecution in Justice Department history — with reams of evidence, harrowing videos and hundreds of convictions of the rioters who stormed the US Capitol on January 6, 2021. Now Donald Trump’s return to power has thrown into question the future of the more than 1,500 federal cases brought over the last four years.

January 6 trials, guilty pleas and sentencings have continued chugging along in Washington’s federal court despite Trump’s promise to pardon rioters, whom he has called “political prisoners” and “hostages” he contends were treated too harshly.

In a statement Monday, Attorney General Merrick Garland said Justice Department prosecutors “have sought to hold accountable those criminally responsible for the January 6 attack on our democracy with unrelenting integrity.”

“They have conducted themselves in a manner that adheres to the rule of law and honors our obligation to protect the civil rights and civil liberties of everyone in this country,” Garland said.

Here’s a look at where the prosecutions stand on the fourth anniversary of the Capitol riot and what could happen next:

Hundreds of arrests, guilty pleas and prison sentences

More than 1,500 people across the US have been charged with federal crimes related to the deadly riot. Hundreds of people who did not engage in destruction or violence were charged only with misdemeanor offenses for entering the Capitol illegally. Others were charged with felony offenses, including assault for beating police officers. Leaders of the Oath Keepers and the Proud Boys extremist groups were convicted of seditious conspiracy for what prosecutors described as plots to use violence to stop the peaceful transfer of power from Trump, a Republican, to Joe Biden, a Democrat.

About 250 people have been convicted of crimes by a judge or a jury after a trial.

Only two people were acquitted of all charges by judges after bench trials. No jury has fully acquitted a Capitol riot defendant.

Dozens of cases

More than 100 January 6 defendants are scheduled to stand trial in 2025, while at least 168 riot defendants are set to be sentenced this year.

Authorities have continued making new arrests since Trump’s election victory. That includes people accused of assaulting police officers who were defending the Capitol.

Citing Trump’s promise of pardons, several defendants have sought to have their cases delayed — with little success.