Feds vow ‘24/7, full-bore’ hunt for Capitol rioters

The federal probe of the unprecedented U.S. Capitol insurrection will include a strike force focused on whether pro-Trump rioters arrived in Washington intent on violent assault against the government, authorities said Tuesday.

“Their only marching orders from me are to build seditious and conspiracy charges related to the most heinous acts that occurred in the Capitol,” said Acting District of Columbia U.S. Attorney Michael Sherwin, who tasked a team of senior national security prosecutors and public corruption prosecutors with the probe. Sherwin said the nation will be “shocked by the egregious conduct” once all the facts emerge regarding the horde that descended on the building at the urging of President Trump. And he described the probe as the equivalent of a counterterrorism or counterintelligence investigation.

Officials promised a “24/7, fullbore” hunt to identify and arrest everyone involved in the rioting that went on unabated for hours.

They also confirmed two live pipe bombs were planted near the Capitol during last Wednesday’s assault, with a $50,000 reward posted for info about the people responsible.

The 160 rioters identified in the past six days were just the “tip of the iceberg,” vowed Washington FBI chief Steven D’Antuono. “To be clear, the brutality the American people watched with shock and disbelief will not be tolerated by the FBI.” He specifically mentioned law enforcement’s determination to find the killer of Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick, 42. Video on the internet appeared to show the man who hurled a fire extinguisher at officers during a wild scuffle with the rioters, and Sicknick died after the missile hit him in the head.

According to officials, an appeal for tips to U.S. citizens produced 100,000 pieces of potential evidence from social media. And they predicted the arrest numbers would grow exponentially as the investigation goes forward.

D’Antuono confirmed the FBI’s Norfolk, Va., office reported a “thread on a message board” mentioning plans for a violent attack linked to the president’s call for a reversal of the election results.

The information was shared with local law enforcement, including the Capitol Police, he said.