This week marks two years since the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol in an unsuccessful attempt to block the certification of the 2020 presidential election results. The FBI, working in partnership with the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia and law enforcement partners across the nation, remains committed to identifying, investigating, and prosecuting those responsible for the attack.
With the assistance of hundreds of thousands of tips from the American people, the FBI has identified and arrested more than 950 individuals who took part in the Capitol riots. Of those, nearly 200 were arrested for assaulting law enforcement officers.
“As we approach two years since the attack on the Capitol, the FBI and our partners’ investigative work continues to unfold across the country, resulting in significant judicial outcomes,” said David Sundberg, assistant director in charge of the FBI Washington Field Office. “Some of the most egregious offenders, including those who attacked law enforcement officers, have received lengthy sentences, and the FBI continues to receive tips from the public, which help us bring remaining offenders to justice. In the months and years to come, the FBI Washington Field Office will continue to partner with U.S. attorney’s offices across the country to bring to justice those who attempted to use violence to substitute their will over the will of the people.”
Among the most significant judicial outcomes to date, Elmer Stewart Rhodes III, the founder and leader of the Oath Keepers, and Kelly Meggs, the leader of the Florida chapter of the organization, were found guilty by a jury of seditious conspiracy and other charges for crimes related to the breach of the Capitol.
Subjects who committed some of the most violent attacks on law enforcement have received significant sentences, including Thomas Webster, a former police officer, who was sentenced to 10 years in prison for assaulting an officer with a flagpole, tackling him, and attempting to remove his helmet and gas mask. Albuquerque Cosper Head and Kyle Young were sentenced to 90 months and 86 months in prison, respectively, for attacking a Metropolitan Police Department officer and dragging him into a mob of rioters.
Investigating the violent assaults on law enforcement officers, obstruction of justice, seditious conspiracy, and multiple other federal crimes committed during the January 6 attack on the Capitol has been and remains a priority for the FBI. Bringing the perpetrators of these attacks to justice has required tireless efforts by FBI agents, analysts, and other professional staff, and the review of almost four million files, including over 30,000 files of video footage consisting of body-worn and hand-held camera footage from five law enforcement agencies, surveillance camera footage from three law enforcement agencies, and search warrant returns for digital devices. For context, these files amount to over nine terabytes of information and would take at least 361 days to view continuously.
Tips from the American people were instrumental in identifying many of the subjects who committed crimes at the Capitol. Among them are Guy Reffitt, Patrick McCaughey (AFO #62), Reed Christensen (AFO #191), Jonathan Munafo (AFO #170), Nicholas Brockhoff (AFO #255), and Geoffrey Sills (AFO #153).
The FBI continues to ask the public for assistance in identifying additional suspects who committed assaults on federal officers (AFO) or other violence at the Capitol on January 6. If you have any information on the individuals depicted in the photos or videos at fbi.gov/capitolviolence, please call 1-800-CALL-FBI (225-5324) or submit a tip online at tips.fbi.gov. Please reference the photo number when calling or submitting information online.
Some of the violent offenders about whom the FBI is seeking public tips to identify include AFOs #91, #292, #371, and #383. AFO #91 uses what appears to be a stick to strike multiple officers numerous times while in the doorway of the Lower West Terrace, commonly referred to as the tunnel. AFOs #292, #371, and #383 are all shown on video charging at and assaulting officers, and they appear to grab and attempt to take possession of the officers’ batons.
Follow the FBI’s Washington Field Office on Twitter at @FBIWFO for updates.
