A week after an angry mob invaded the Capitol, Congress struggled on Wednesday to make sense of the most serious foray into his home in more than two centuries, as lawmakers called for further investigations and federal officials spread across the country, taking in custody were several other suspects, including two Virginia police officers and a Florida fireman.
The flood of arrests and appeals for investigation came when the House filed a second historic impeachment charge against President Trump and federal police officers continued to examine whether the attack on the Capitol included efforts coordinated by small groups of extremists and was not just a protest at mass that got out of control. All of this happened while the official Washington was crouching defensively, with much of the city surrounded by protective fences and armed troops camped inside the Capitol complex.
Led by Congressman Mikie Sherrill, a Democrat from New Jersey and a former Navy pilot, more than 30 lawmakers on Wednesday called for an investigation into visitor access to the Capitol the day before the riot. In a letter to the House and Senate arms sergeants and the United States Capitol Police, lawmakers, many of whom served in the army and said they were trained to “recognize suspicious activity”, demanded answers about what they described as a “Extremely high number of outside groups” left Capitol on January 5 at a time when most travel was restricted because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Separately, the office of the Capitol Police inspector general said it was opening a potentially wide-ranging investigation into security breaches related to the siege. The Government Accountability Office, a federal non-partisan enforcement agency, has signaled that it would investigate what role, if any, members of Congress may have played in inciting the multitude of Trump supporters who breached metal barricades and shattered windows on January 6. , seeking to annul the election results.
Banned from Twitter last week, Trump issued a brief statement on Wednesday, urging Americans “to ease tensions and calm down.” But senior officials, including some from the Pentagon, said they are deeply concerned about Induction Day, when President-elect Joseph R. Biden Jr. is due to take office.
Seeking to keep their local colleagues informed, Christopher A. Wray, the director of the FBI, and Kenneth T. Cuccinelli II, a senior officer in the Department of Homeland Security, informed more than 5,000 police officers on Wednesday about potential threats across the country. . They emphasized in particular that violence could explode this weekend in all 50 buildings in state capitals across the country.
For the first time since the Washington riot, Jeffrey A. Rosen, the acting attorney general, issued a public statement, saying in a video released on Tuesday that he would not tolerate violence or any other criminal behavior and that Biden would, like everyone else his predecessors, will take office on January 20, in a peaceful transition ceremony. Mr. Rosen also promised to hold those who invaded the Capitol responsible for what he called an “intolerable, shocking and tragic episode” and asked the public to share with the FBI everything they know about the attack.
The federal investigation – an expanded investigation that has already captured more than 70 people – continued to accelerate on Wednesday as accusations of disorderly conduct and entry into a restricted space were brought against policeman Jacob Fracker and the sergeant. Thomas Robertson, two members of the Rocky Mount, Virginia, Police Department, who attended the riot while off duty.
According to a criminal complaint, the two men broke into the Capitol last week and posed for a photograph under a statue of John Stark, a Revolutionary War general, posting on social media. The complaint mentioned a subsequent post by Sergeant Robertson, who wrote that the photo showed “2 men willing to really play the game and defend their rights”.
Houston police chief Art Acevedo said in an interview on Wednesday that one of his officers, an 18-year veteran in the force, was also under investigation in connection with the Capitol attack and is likely to face charges.
Capitol Riot Fallout
“It is absolutely clear that he entered the Capitol,” said Chief Acevedo, “and we fully anticipate that he will be federally accused.”
Federal agents made more arrests on Wednesday in New York, Maryland, Texas and Florida, including a fireman from the city of Sanford, near Orlando. The fireman, Andrew Williams, was accused of illegal entry and disorderly conduct, and his lawyer, Vincent Citro, told a Florida news channel that it was Trump’s fault.
“The president and the Capitol Police have encouraged negligible behavior,” said Citro. “Sir. Williams did not participate in anything.”
New accusations were also made against one of the most widely seen figures in the riot: a bearded man photographed inside the Capitol in a sweatshirt printed with the “Camp Auschwitz” logo.
The man, Robert K. Packer, 56, was taken into custody in Newport News, Virginia, and was charged with illegal entry and disruption of official government business. In a complaint filed with the Federal District Court in Washington, prosecutors said a witness identified Mr. Packer because he wore the anti-Semitic sweatshirt regularly while doing his errands on Newport News.
As more people are accused of the attack, it is clear that many of those who went to Washington last week were not only angry, but also heavily armed and, in some cases, dangerous. That point was clarified by court documents filed on Wednesday in the case of Cleveland G. Meredith Jr., who wrote in a text message that he wanted to put a bullet in the “head” of spokeswoman Nancy Pelosi on “live TV” , prosecutors said.
According to the newspapers, Meredith drove around the country with a Tavor X95 assault rifle, a 9 mm pistol painted to resemble an American flag and about 2,500 rounds of ammunition, including at least 320 5.56-caliber perforating rounds. Prosecutors say Meredith, who has a history of drug abuse and mental illness, also threatened to kill Washington’s Mayor Muriel E. Bowser.
“I can go to the mayor’s office and put a 5.56 on his skull,” he wrote in a text message, court documents said.
This sense of outrage was echoed in the tumultuous debate in Congress over impeachment, which spread throughout the day. The feeling of recrimination crossed Washington’s borders, as local politicians in other states hurled accusations at each other.
A group of Arizona lawmakers released a letter on Wednesday the day before to Rosen and Wray, calling for an investigation into two of their own colleagues, Mark Finchem and Anthony Kern, who, according to social media posts, were on riot on the Capitol.
Lawmakers also mentioned that two Arizona congressmen, Paul Gosar and Andy Biggs, both Republicans, planned the rally that preceded the uproar with the organizer of the so-called Stop the Steal movement, Ali Alexander. A Biggs spokesman denied that he had any role in organizing the rally. Gosar seemed to have a friendly relationship with Alexander, often tagging him on Twitter posts. At a rally last month outside Arizona State Capitol, in which Gosar spoke, Alexander called the congressman “the animal spirit of that movement”.
“It is vital for any current or future federal investigations and, ultimately, for the Arizona public they represent, that we know what these elected officials knew about this planned insurrection and when they knew it,” said the letter from lawmakers.
A similar desire for answers – and for justice – was expressed by Congressman Jason Crow, a Colorado Democrat and Army veteran who led the call for an investigation into whether any of his colleagues in the House played a role in instigating the attack on the Capitol. At least five people died during the attack and protests that accompanied it.
“As long as there were members of the Chamber who were accomplices, and I believe there were, we will seek appropriate remedies, including expulsion and a ban on holding elective offices for the rest of their lives,” Crow said in an interview. “They, of course, will be subject to criminal investigation and prosecution if that is what the facts of the investigation show.”
Adam Goldman and Manny Fernandez contributed reports.