FBI’s big challenge just starting in riot inquiry
Of the 125 federal arrests made so far in connection with the riot at the Capitol earlier this month, most have been relatively simple: Agents and prosecutors have put together cases largely by scouring the news and social media for incriminating photographs and videos.
Some of the evidence has been almost comically easy to obtain. Several people have been turned in by their loved ones or have openly bragged about their roles in the attack on Facebook or in interviews with their hometown newspapers. One man went so far as to post a photo of himself on Instagram with a helpful finger-pointing icon and the words, “THIS IS ME.”
But the inquiry into the Capitol assault, a huge effort that has focused its attention on as many as 400 people, took an important turn this week as prosecutors filed their first serious conspiracy charges, accusing three members of the right-wing militia group the Oath Keepers of plotting the incursion in advance. If, as they have promised, investigators are hoping to narrow their gaze on organized extremists who may have preplanned the attack, they are going to have to use a different and more difficult-to-master set of skills.
The FBI’s most challenging work, legal scholars say, may have only just begun.
“It’s a lot harder to charge a conspiracy, especially compared to the first wave of cases where you basically had people confessing on video to federal crimes,” said Aitan Goelman, a former federal prosecutor who helped try Timothy McVeigh, the Oklahoma City bomber. “You are going to see more serious charges,
but they are naturally going to come later after more investment by law enforcement.”
Court papers showed that many defendants have turned themselves in and are cooperating with authorities. Cases in the coming days are likely to focus on attacks against members of the press at the Capitol, according to a law enforcement official briefed on the matter.
In making more conspiracy cases, the first question investigators must confront is how much conspiring actually went into the storming of the Capitol on Jan. 6. Five people died in the violent attack, and the final certification of President Joe Biden’s election was abruptly interrupted as lawmakers fled the House and Senate floors.
Chilling videos and photos have emerged showing some people moving inside the building in tight formation, wearing military gear, carrying restraints and sometimes using hand signals or radios to communicate.
But many people appear
to have acted spontaneously and, at least so far, have been accused of misdemeanors like unlawful entry and disorderly conduct.
The Oath Keepers case could be a model moving forward for more complicated cases. The criminal complaint shows investigators employing a variety of techniques in tracking down and charging the defendants: Thomas E. Caldwell, Donovan Crowl and Jessica Watkins. Caldwell said he intended to fight the charges at a hearing this week. Crowl and Watkins have not yet appeared in court to respond to the complaint.
Agents in their case pored through video footage at the Capitol looking for badges or insignia suggesting that the three accused militia members were part of the same group. They trolled through social media accounts on platforms like Parler for any indications that the three were not only at the building, but had planned in advance to be there.