U.S. prosecutors are ramping up the investigation into last week’s riot at the Capitol, with more than 170 suspects under scrutiny and law enforcement officials planning charges of sedition and conspiracy.
Law enforcement officials are treating the riot “like an international counter-terrorism investigation,” Acting U.S. Attorney in Washington Michael Sherwin said at a press conference Tuesday. “We’re looking at everything — money, travel records. No resource will be unchecked.”
The Justice Department has established a task force of senior national security officials to pursue the sedition and conspiracy cases, which carry sentences as long as 20 years, Sherwin said. Other prosecutors are focused on charging rioters who assaulted police officers and members of the media.
The probe is one of the most expansive criminal investigations in the history of the Justice Department, with a wide assortment of agencies helping to build cases, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the U.S. Marshals. All 56 FBI field offices are involved.