Attack on the Capitol: A year later, the judicial component far from over for Donald Trump and the rioters – 20 Minutes

It is an unprecedented hunt. One year later the assault on the Washington Capitol, who did shake the American institutions, the FBI steamroller has kicked in. At this point, several hundred supporters of Donald Trump have been arrested and charged, and some have been convicted. In the spring, justice will attack to far-right militiamen indicted for “criminal association” and will attempt to answer a crucial question: the assault, carried out at the time when the elected officials were certifying the election, was he planned?

For its part, a parliamentary commission of inquiry is seeking to determine whether Donald Trump or his lieutenants were aware of any preparations and whether they participated in them. If so, elected officials could recommend criminal charges against the former US president.

Five years in prison for violence against police officers

For months, FBI agents analyzed thousands of hours of video and scoured social networks to identify the rioters – overwhelmingly white males, mostly between 30 and 50 years old. Authorities say around 2,000 people were “involved in the siege” and hundreds entered the grounds of Congress.

Of the 725 Americans already arrested and charged, 165 have pleaded guilty – mainly to disturbing public order or entering the Capitol without permission – in order to avoid a trial. Most received light sentences, ranging from probation to a few weeks in prison. Even if he expressed his “shame”, Robert Palmer, who came from Florida, was sentenced to five years in prison for having attacked policemen with a board and a fire extinguisher.

Far-right militiamen tried in spring

Around 70 trials have already taken place, mostly through accelerated procedures. Jacob Chansley, the “Shaman of Qanon” become an emblematic face of January 6 with its Viking horns and trapper hat, was sentenced to three and a half years of prison for obstructing the certification of the results of the presidential election. He had entered the Senate chamber armed with a flag transformed into a spear and left a threatening message on the desk of Mike Pence, then vice-president.

From next spring, around forty members of far-right groups and militias (Proud Boys, Oath Keepers and Three Percenters) will be tried by popular juries for “conspiracy” (close to “criminal association”), with charges punishable by twenty years in prison. Prosecutors will need to prove that these groups planned the assault. According to the indictment, during the attack, Thomas Edward Caldwell, a retiree from the US Navy, received the following message, which appears to refer to elected officials who took refuge in the underground of the Capitol: “All members are in the tunnels. Close them and turn on the gas ”. Four members who have decided to plead guilty and cooperate with the authorities may be able to provide details on these communications still shrouded in mystery.

So far, no one has been charged with “sedition” or “insurrection”, but it could come. A charge of “insurgency” would be particularly explosive, because it would open, in theory, the door to a possible vote of Congress to declare Donald Trump ineligible via the 14th Amendment, adopted after the Civil War.

Donald Trump gives up speaking out

The former US president, who had planned to speak at a press conference on Thursday, finally gave up. He was angry in a press release against the parliamentary committee, “biased and dishonest” according to him, which is investigating his role. If he escaped impeachment when he was president, he remains under the threat of criminal charges that elected officials could recommend – a decision that the Justice Department would not, however, be obliged to follow.

Made up of seven Democrats and two anti-Trump Republicans, this commission is in a race against time to complete its work ahead of the November midterm election, with favored Republicans to regain control of the House. Donald Trump’s lieutenants are therefore playing the clock and refusing to cooperate.

His ex-adviser, Steve Bannon, has been charged with obstruction and will be tried in June. The day before the riots, he launched this tirade in his podcast, which is of particular interest to elected officials:

“It’s not going to turn out the way you think. All I can say is ‘Hang on’. Everything will go wrong tomorrow. So many people say, ‘If I was in a revolution, I would be in Washington’. Well, this is your moment in history ” “

According to Republican Liz Cheney, “it seems that Mr. Bannon was aware of the plans for January 6 in advance and played an important role in developing them.” This showdown will be played out in part before the Supreme Court, seized by Donald Trump to block the transfer of documents that he considers covered by the privilege of the executive.

Reference to the Penal Code

At the end of December 2021, the vice-president of the commission also read text messages sent during the assault to Donald Trump’s chief of staff, Mark Meadows – who provided documents but refuses to testify. Several relatives of the president, and even his son Donald Jr, begged him to ask the order in chief to intervene to calm the rioters, which he was slow to do. This Tuesday, new texts from Fox News host Sean Hannity were added to the record: “I’m very worried about the next 48 hours. I don’t think January 6 is going to unfold as it has been told, ”he wrote to Mark Meadows the day before the riots.

At the end of December, Liz Cheney issued a warning message to the former American president: “The question is: ” Has Donald Trump, by his action or his inaction, tried in a corrupt way to do obstructing or hampering the work of Congress to count electoral votes. ”” A quote repeated almost verbatim in the US federal criminal code. Donald Trump’s road to a possible candidacy in 2024 therefore remains more than ever undermined.