By the numbers: Jan. 6 one year later
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Pro-Trump supporters storm the U.S. Capitol following a rally with President Trump on Jan. 6, 2021, in Washington, D.C. Photo: Samuel Corum via Getty Images
America's democratic institutions were rattled on Jan. 6, 2021, after pro-Trump rioters stormed the Capitol in an effort to stop the certification of the 2020 election.
Why it matters: The insurrection had a lasting impact on the country and Congress. Here's a look at 10 numbers that show where things are a year out from that violent day.
1. The Justice Department has arrested 725 people in connection to the riots in nearly all 50 states
The DOJ has "issued over 5,000 subpoenas and search warrants, seized approximately 2,000 devices, pored through over 20,000 hours of video footage, and searched through an estimated 15 terabytes of data," U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland said Wednesday.
Garland said most people were arrested on suspicion of assaulting, resisting or impeding officers or employees. 20 people charged with felonies have pled guilty. 49 people have been sentenced to incarceration or home detention.
2. Congress has increased funding for Capitol security by $406 million
In July, Congress passed an appropriations bill that included new funding to secure the Capitol that included $70 million in funding for Capitol police salaries, $300 million in new upgrades to the building for safety and security purposes, and millions more in new equipment and security detail for members of Congress.
3. There were around 9,600 threats to members of Congress in 2021
The funding turned out to be necessary as "threats against Congress have grown exponentially over the last five years," U.S. Capitol Police chief Tom Manger told the Washington Post this week.
There were 8,613 threats investigated in 2020 according the USCP. That number grew to around 9,600 in 2021.
4. About 1 in 3 Americans now believe that "violence against the government can at times be justified"
That is the largest share of respondents to hold that view in similar polls in the last two decades, per a poll by the Washington Post and the University of Maryland.
- 40% of Republicans and 41% of independents said violence can be acceptable, compared with 23% of Democrats.
- 40% of white Americans said violence can be justified, compared with 18% of Black Americans.
5. Five states launched audits of the 2020 election
Audits of the 2020 election results took place in Wisconsin, Georgia, Arizona, Michigan and Pennsylvania.
- Many of the audits were done by Republican officials and based on Trump's baseless allegations of widespread fraud. These audits have cost taxpayers millions of dollars and have found few fraudulent votes, according to the Brennan Center for Justice.
6. 19 Republican-led states have enacted laws to restrict voting
The surge in mostly Republican voting bills across 19 states follows former President Trump's unfounded claims of election fraud and the deadly Jan. 6 attack, per Axios' Stef Kight.
- The Brennan Center for Justice notes that more than one-third of all restrictive voting laws in the U.S. enacted over the past decade were passed in 2021.
7. 15 Republican secretary of state candidates question Biden's legitimacy
Many of the Republicans running in secretary of state races — those who will be in charge of state election law — continue to deny the 2020 election results and downplay the insurrection, an NPR analysis found.
8. Nine out of the 10 Republicans who voted to impeach Trump have been censured
Nearly all of the House Republicans who voted to impeach Trump in the aftermath of the attack have been censured by GOP committees in their home states, per FiveThirtyEight.
Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) and Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.) both now serve on the Jan. 6 select committee investigating the attack. Kinzinger and Rep. Anthony Gonzalez (R-Ohio) will retire, while four other members are facing off against Trump-endorsed primary challengers.
9. The Jan. 6 select committee has interviewed over 250 people so far
Chair Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.) told the AP the committee has interviewed around 250 people so far.
Thompson told the Washington Post the committee is particularly interested in where Trump was during the 187 minutes it took him to record a message telling his supporters to stand down.
10. A majority of Americans expect a repeat of the Jan. 6 attack sometime in the next few years
About 57% of Americans — about half of Republicans and seven in 10 Democrats — say more events similar to Jan. 6 are likely to happen in the next few years, according to a new Axios-Momentive poll.
The survey shows that fewer than six in 10 Americans say President Biden legitimately won the 2020 election, a number that has barely budged since the same poll was conducted last year shortly before Jan. 6.
