As many as 1,200 additional people could still face charges related to the Jan. 6, 2021, riot on the Capitol Constructing, based on a letter sent by the US attorney overseeing the investigations to a DC federal court judge.
The letter, sent by US Attorney Matthew Graves to Chief Judge Beryl Howell in October 2022, estimated that a further 700 to 1,200 individuals would face charges related to the riot, based on Bloomberg News.
Graves’ estimate could greater than double the quantity of cases related to Jan. 6 which have already been filed.
Earlier this month, the Justice Department reached a milestone in prosecutions when it confirmed that at the very least 1,000 people have been arrested in connection to the Capitol attack.
“We expect the pace of bringing recent cases will increase, in an orderly fashion, over the course of the subsequent few months,” Graves wrote within the letter, based on Bloomberg News, and warned that it was “incredibly difficult” to predict future cases due to “nature and the complexity of the investigation.”
Graves added that estimates could change and that he wasn’t sure how most of the recent defendants would face misdemeanor charges versus felony charges, but signaled that the next percentage of cases could be felony ones.
Howell told Bloomberg News in a press release that his court “continues to administer its caseload and trial calendar efficiently, notwithstanding the delays occasioned by the pandemic.”
“Thus far, the court has been in a position to manage the increased criminal caseload well,” Howell said. “Should a ‘surge’ of filings occur at a later date, the Court would assess what additional steps, if any, it should take.”
Howell’s term as chief judge within the DC federal court ends later this week.
Greater than 500 people have entered guilty pleas related to Jan. 6 and greater than 50 have been convicted at trial, based on the report, which cites the US attorney’s office.
