Justice department mulls using Mafia prosecution laws against Capitol rioters, says report
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Your support makes all the difference.The Justice Department is considering whether members of far-right groups involved in the storming of the Capitol on 6 January can be charged under federal laws usually used against people involved in organised crime.
Reuters cites two law enforcement sources as saying the DOJ is mulling use of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organisations Act (RICO), which enables prosecutors to combat certain ongoing racketeering crimes such as murder, kidnapping, bribery and money laundering. Penalties can be up to 20 years in prison and the seizure of assets obtained through criminal enterprise.
No final decision has been made, but the use of the 1970 statute is being debated, according to the sources, a current law enforcement official and a former official who recently left the federal government. The debate is whether the cases meet the “statutory elements” necessary for such charges.
The fatal assault on Congress by supporters of former President Donald Trump left five dead including police officer Brian Sicknick, who was laid to rest on Wednesday in Arlington National Cemetery.
Justice Department spokeswoman Kristina Mastropasqua declined to comment about the potential use of the RICO statute when approached by Reuters.
She did point to previous statements by the senior federal prosecutor for the District of Columbia, Michael Sherwin, that he would charge people based on what the evidence showed. He said that a wide range of charges are being considered, from trespassing up to seditious conspiracy.
The RICO statute was brought in to prosecute Mafia bosses who ordered others to commit crimes. Due to the complexities of such cases and the length of time they take to prosecute, permission is needed from Justice Department leadership.
More than 170 people have been charged in connection with the Capitol attack that interrupted the formal congressional certification of Biden’s election victory over Trump and sent lawmakers into hiding for their own safety.
The mention of RICO charges implies that officials may be looking to go after leaders who coordinated action on or leading up to 6 January.
Obstructing an official government proceeding, the charge some members of far right groups the Oath Keepers and Proud Boys are currently facing, is considered a “racketeering activity” and could fall under the RICO statute provided the groups can be classified as a criminal enterprise – defined by being engaged in two or more related crimes beyond the riots.
Prosecutors could examine the groups’ activities at other violent events such as the 2017 Charlottesville rally or attempts to storm state capitols.
A Washington grand jury last month indicted three Oath Keepers members on charges that they conspired to forcibly storm the Capitol. Two Proud Boys members were indicted on charges they conspired with others to obstruct law enforcement from protecting the Capitol.
In the past other violent groups have faced RICO prosecution, including the one led by Omar Abdel Rahman, known as the “Blind Sheikh” – convicted of plotting to bomb the United Nations and George Washington Bridge in New York.
With reporting from Reuters
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