FBI has hundreds of names of Capitol riot suspects but DOJ needs more lawyers to prosecute them, report says
More than 775 Capitol rioters have been arrested and more than 225 have pleaded guilty
The latest headlines from our reporters across the US sent straight to your inbox each weekday
Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US
Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US
The US Justice Department has been busy for more than a year tracking down and prosecuting participants in the Capitol riot, but is now facing an unprecedented problem; it doesn't have enough lawyers to carry out the prosecutions.
NBC News reports that more than 775 supporters of Donald Trump who stormed the Capitol on 6 January have been arrested. More than 225 people have pleaded guilty thus far, and two have been convicted during a trial. More than 50 have been sentenced to prison.
However, 15 months after the inciting event, more than 500 active cases still require resolution, either by plea or by trial.
This has prompted the Justice Department to ask Congress for additional funds to further prosecute the still-growing list of defendants.
Part of what is driving the number of defendants are internet sleuths calling themselves "Sedition Hunters" using photos and video from the Capitol riot to identify participants and report them to the FBI. The laymen detectives use open-source information, like social media pages, to link individuals to the Capital riot.
“There are hundreds still to go,” one of the Sedition Hunters told NBC news.
Further complicating issues is that some defendants are reportedly intent on representing themselves.
At least five defendants have decided to represent themselves, which legal experts have said is extremely risky as federal charges can be complex and difficult to navigate.
Legal analysts said self-represented cases are a headache for prosecutors and judges, as the defendants rarely take plea deals and judges have to watch closely to ensure they do not self-incriminate.
Though there is no consensus on how well self-represented individuals do versus those who utilise the services of defense lawyers, experts noted that defendants in federal cases tend to be convicted at very high rates. According to a Pew Research poll from 2019, 83 per cent of all defendants who went to trial in a federal court were found guilty, regardless of representation.
Early last month, the first Capitol rioter to stand trial was convicted by a federal jury.
Texas resident Guy Reffitt was convicted on five charges after only four hours of jury deliberation.
During the riot, he threatened to drag House Speaker Nancy Pelosi "by her ankles" out of the Capitol, saying he did not care if her "head is hitting every stair" along the way.
He was eventually turned in by his own son, Jackson Reffitt. Mr Reffitt threatened his son and his 16-year-old sister that they would be "traitors" if they turned him in, telling them that "traitors get shot."
Mr Reffitt will be sentenced alongside 200 other Capitol rioters who've pleaded guilty on 8 June.