- Federal investigators are deepening their investigations into the rebellion on January 6, according to CNN.
- The feds are looking for possible connections between lawmakers and alleged rioters before the siege.
- If a connection is established, legislators and officials may have to change personal communications.
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Federal agencies charged with investigating the January 6 uprising in DC are reviewing communications between lawmakers and pro-Trump mafia members, according to a new CNN report.
According to an American official who spoke to CNN, investigators are trying to determine whether those who violated the Capitol were directly or indirectly assisted by lawmakers before the insurrection.
The CNN report added that, so far, there was evidence of contact between lawmakers and protesters before the insurrection.
Some of those who planned or participated in the January 6 demonstration praised their relationships with members of Congress; as Insider reported earlier, “Stop the Steal” organizer Ali Alexander says that three congressmen helped him plan the rally that preceded the Capitol siege.
However, investigators have not yet sought warrants for personal communications from lawmakers, nor have they found concrete evidence that lawmakers have instructed members of the crowd.
More than 300 mafia members on January 6 were charged, and many more face federal and local charges. Insider has created a searchable database of all the so-called troublemakers who have been accused so far.
According to CNN, the Justice Department has appointed more than 20 prosecutors to determine which groups have organized the siege of the Capitol, who potentially financed troublemakers and whether there is a link between lawmakers, their officials and alleged troublemakers.
Investigators have access to cell tower data, which they have used to track those who violated and left the Capitol on Jan. 6 without being arrested immediately, according to CNN. And, federally, the FBI is allowed to collect phone metadata, as well as geolocation data for investigations.
According to the report, police officers followed an “exclusion list” to track protesters who entered the Capitol, isolating approved and permitted mobile devices and focusing on the metadata of those not permitted in the building.
The CNN report added that Democrats are pressuring investigators to review the security footage of the Capitol Police to determine if any members of Congress paid visits to the organizers of the Stop the Steal rally and rape before January 6, alleged by some Democratic members of Congress.
Insider contacted the FBI and the Justice Department for comment.