Merrick Garland vows to keep following leads to hold Jan. 6 rioters accountable

Attorney General Merrick Garland pauses as he speaks at the Department of Justice in Washington on Wednesday, in advance of the one year anniversary of the attack on the U.S. Capitol. (Carolyn Kaster/AP)

Attorney General Merrick Garland pauses as he speaks at the Department of Justice in Washington on Wednesday, in advance of the one year anniversary of the attack on the U.S. Capitol. (Carolyn Kaster/AP)

Attorney General Merrick Garland pledged the Justice Department would hold to account people who broke the law in connection with the siege on the U.S. Capitol last Jan. 6, no matter their level or “whether they were present that day or were otherwise criminally responsible for the assault on democracy.”

In a speech delivered Wednesday from the Justice Department’s Great Hall, Garland addressed the federal response to what he called a “solemn anniversary”– the most significant assault on the seat of government since the War of 1812.

“We will follow the facts wherever they lead,” Garland said. “The actions we have taken thus far will not be our last.”

The investigation is now one of the biggest and most complicated in the department’s own long history. More than 700 people have been indicted for their roles in the insurrection, which injured 140 law enforcement officers. Five officers who reported for duty that day have since died.

In keeping with the Justice Department prohibition on discussing the specifics of ongoing investigations, the attorney general did not detail what steps, if any, DOJ investigators are taking to probe former President Donald Trump, his family members, or others in his inner circle.

That has frustrated Rep. Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., who told CNN recently that Garland had been “extremely weak.”

“I think there should be a lot more of the organizers of Jan. 6 that should be arrested by now,” Gallego added.

But Garland said that in complex probes, authorities frequently bring “less severe” cases first, as investigators “methodically collect and sift through more evidence.”

Copyright 2022 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Want a digest of WHYY’s programs, events & stories? Sign up for our weekly newsletter.

Together we can reach 100% of WHYY’s fiscal year goal