Washington, DC-

The United States of America Attorney General Merrick Garland gave an update on the Capitol Hill Attack investigation at about 11:50 am on January 5th at Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, highlighting the investigation continues forward and “all January 6 perpetrators will be held accountable under the law.”

“…it is a fitting time to reaffirm that we at the Department of Justice will do everything in our power to defend the American people and American democracy. We will defend our democratic institutions from attack. We will protect those who serve the public from violence and threats of violence,” stated AG Garland.

After summarizing a timeline of the attack on January 6, 2020, AG Garland paid respects with a moment of silence of 30 seconds to 5 law enforcement and security officers who have since lost their lives as a result of the Capitol Hill Attack. The five officers named were Officer Brian Sicknick, Officer Howard Liebengood, Officer Jeffrey Smith, Officer Gunther Hashida, and Officer Kyle DeFreytag.

Breaking the silence, AG Merrick Garland continued, “, the Justice Department began its work on what has become one of the largest, most complex, and most resource-intensive investigations in our history.”

AG Garland then went over the statistics and data of the investigation and what arrests have resulted from the investigation.

The following were personnel and agencies involved in the investigation: U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia, the FBI’s Washington Field Office, Department Of Justice personnel in nearly all 56 field offices, in 94 United States Attorneys’ Offices, and other DOJ components. Also, 70 prosecutors from the District of Columbia and another 70 from other U.S. Attorney’s Offices and DOJ divisions have participated in the investigation.

The investigation has resulted in over 5,000 subpoenas and search warrants issued, approximately 2,000 devices seized, over 20,000 hours of video footage analyzed, an estimated 15 terabytes of data inspected, and over 300,000 tips received from ordinary citizens. Garland also reported the FBI Website will continue to post photos of perpetrators being sought for the January 6th attack.

“As of today, we have arrested and charged more than 725 defendants, in nearly all 50 states and the District of Columbia, for their roles in the January 6th attack,” stipulated Garland.

Garland reported that the perpetrators charged have been done in accordance with “well-worn prosecutorial practices.” However, majority of online commentators with the broadcast argued against that statement calling the practices “a waste of resources.” There were a few who commented that that they “applaud the efforts.”

AG Merrick stated that the DOJ remains committed to holding all participants in the January 6 Attack criminally responsible. He also detailed the definition of participants by defining the participant who participated in the attack at any level and whether they were present or not that day, if their actions resulted in any sort of role in the attack.

“We will follow the evidence wherever it leads us,” said Garland. “…as long as it takes and whatever it takes for justice to be done — consistent with the
facts and the law.”

The conclusion of the speech was the highlights of how everyone in the United States deserves the right to have a “peaceful transition” from one elected administration to another.

“Each of us — you and I — came to work here because we are committed to the rule of law and to seeking equal justice under law. We came to work here because we are committed to ensuring the civil rights and civil liberties of our people. We came to work here because we are committed to protecting our country — as our oath says — from all enemies, foreign and domestic,” finalized AG Merrick Garland.