Sep 1, 2021 - Politics & Policy

Prosecutors: Capitol rioters committed over 1,000 assaults on police

Ivana Saric

Trump supporters clash with police and security forces as they try to storm the US Capitol in Washington, DC on January 6 — Trump supporters clash with police and security forces on their way to storming the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6. Photo: Joseph Prezioso/AFP via Getty Images

Video footage shows that rioters committed more than 1,000 assaults against police officers during the U.S. Capitol insurrection, according to a court filing by prosecutors Wednesday.

Why it matters: The statistic highlights the level of violence police faced trying to defend the Capitol and lawmakers who were inside the building certifying the Electoral College vote for President Biden on Jan. 6.

The revelation in a status update in the case of Couy Griffin, one of over 600 people charged over the Capitol violence, underscores that authorities are still searching for "dozens, if not hundreds, of suspects," notes Politico, which first obtained the court filing.

What they're saying: "Based on a review of the body-worn-camera footage conducted by our Office, the footage displays approximately 1,000 events that may be characterized as assaults on federal officers," said federal prosecutor Emily Miller, of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Washington, D.C., in the filing.

Miller noted that prosecutors expected to upload in the next four weeks 7,000 hours of footage that the Capitol Police provided the FBI, having determined that "an additional 7,000 hours of footage is not relevant to this case."

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Prosecutors: Capitol rioters committed over 1,000 assaults on police

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