January 6th 2024.
Today marks three years since the riot at the US Capitol on January 6th, 2021. It was a dark day in American history, fueled by hateful rhetoric that infuriatingly remains a part of our political discourse.
Since then, authorities have charged 1,265 people across 50 states and the District of Columbia. Of these charges, 460 people have been sentenced to incarceration - one of the largest and most complex investigations in US history. Of the 1,265 individuals charged, 718 have secured guilty pleas, with 213 of them involving serious felonies such as assaults on federal officers, obstructing law enforcement, and seditious conspiracy.
In order to hold those involved accountable, hundreds of people have been sentenced for lesser offenses to either home detention or probation. The harshest sentences have been reserved for leaders of white supremacist groups, such as the Proud Boys and the Oath Keepers. The leader of the Proud Boys, Enrique Tarrio, was sentenced to 22 years in prison after being found guilty on charges of seditious conspiracy and other felonies. Stewart Rhodes, the founder of the anti-government group the Oath Keepers, was sentenced to 18 years in prison in May 2023.
However, the investigations are far from concluded as officials are still trying to track down more than 80 rioters who are suspected of assaulting law enforcement during the riot. Time is slowly running out on the statute of limitations for crimes committed during the riot; it expires on Jan. 5, 2026, the day before the fifth anniversary of the Capitol Riot.
As people remember the Capitol Riot and then-President Donald Trump's role in the riot on social media, many, like Rep. Cori Bush, say that it should disqualify Trump from another opportunity to be President. On Twitter, Bush posted, “Three years ago today, myself, my staff, and every other member of Congress were on lockdown because the former white supremacist-in-chief incited an insurrection at the US Capitol. Donald Trump shouldn’t be allowed to run for dog catcher, let alone President.”
The accounts of those involved in the investigations paints a vivid picture. PBS NewsHour spoke to one of the citizen investigators who has been helping the FBI put rioters behind bars. Sandy said that she has been harassed by Jan. 6 rioters including one sending her videos of him racking his gun. She continued, “We have some that voted for Trump, and then after J6 were disgusted by it, because they took the peaceful transfer of power and just stomped all over it, literally. And then they called themselves patriots.”
Cynthia Miller-Idriss, the director of American University’s Polarization and Extremism Research and Innovation Lab, said that there is not enough resources for any branch of law enforcement to deal with a mass movement of political extremism driven by mass misinformation or disinformation. Miller-Idriss said, "It’s no longer just on the fringes when you’re talking about people in the mainstream spontaneously taking up violent action for a political goal. And I know everyone in my field is watching the year to come with a lot of concern. We put almost all of our eggs in the basket of Department of Justice and think that the security side of it will solve it. It has to be there, but so does the Department of Education and agencies that work with youths, that work with the elderly, that work with digital and media literacy.”
It's been three years since the horrific Capitol Riot and as we enter another election year, it's critical that we don't forget the violence, destruction, and hatred that was seen that day. We must never forget Jan 6 and we must ensure that we protect our democracy by holding all those involved accountable.
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