The FBI has accused over 700 Donald Trump supporters of taking part in the siege of the US Capitol on January 6, 2021.

They surged into the Capitol just as members of Congress were ready to ratify Joe Biden's election as President. Federal investigators first believed that 800 persons took part, but they now believe the figure is closer to 2,000.

The diverse group includes far-right radicals and conspiracy theorists, as well as average Trump fans.

Some far-right radicals are facing criminal conspiracy charges, implying a planned assault.

According to Lorenzo Vidino, director of the Program on Extremism at George Washington University, the investigation is one of the "largest the FBI has ever conducted."

Light sentences

According to Vidino, whose center has amassed thorough data on those charged, the culprits are mostly white men with an average age of 39.

Due to the high number of accused, many have struck plea bargains. A total of 40 have been charged with criminal conspiracy, which suggests a planned attack. Most of the charges are trespassing or disorderly behavior rather than violence or destruction. 

By US law, investigators can investigate foreign extremist groups but not American organizations with extreme or violent ideas.

The crucial remaining issue is who, among prominent persons who were not physically present, may have directly coordinated or incited the attack? Prosecutors and detectives are deferring to Congress members and conducting their own probe.

Americans afraid for their democracy

A CBS survey showed that the attack was "a harbinger of increasing political violence," according to two-thirds of those polled. A Washington Post/University of Maryland poll revealed Americans' pride in their democracy has plummeted.

The findings highlight the seemingly irreconcilable opinions that divide American culture. 

According to a poll by The Washington Post, 60% of respondents say Donald Trump is to blame for the event.

Despite that, and according to CBS, 26% of Americans still want him to run again in 2024. 

Trump’s son begged his father to stop the Capitol Riots

Text messages to then-White House Chief of Staff, Mark Meadows, reveal that Donald Trump’s son, Donald Trump Jr., pleaded with his father to urge rioters at the Capitol on January 6 to evacuate the complex.

“We need an Oval Office address,” Trump Jr. texted Meadows, Cheney said, adding that the younger Trump had messaged the Chief of Staff “again and again.”

Moreover, Trump has had his appeal of hiding records related to the January 6 Capitol storming rejected.