By Stephen Dinan The Washington Times Monday, January 6, 2025

Attorney General Merrick Garland on Monday praised the FBI and his Justice Department prosecutors for their zealous pursuit of those who stormed the U.S. Capitol four years ago, saying the cases they brought against more than 1,500 people are a defense of democracy.

Mr. Garland took office just weeks after the 2021 attack and poured a massive amount of money and manpower into the effort to identify, arrest and prosecute those who breached the Capitol. He said it’s become “one of the most complex and most resource-intensive investigations in the Justice Department’s history.”

“January 6 was a violent attack on the law enforcement officers defending the Capitol, and it was an unprecedented attack on a cornerstone of our system of government — the peaceful transfer of power from one administration to the next,” he said.

President-elect Donald Trump has promised to begin issuing pardons to Jan. 6 participants as soon as he takes office in two weeks. He argues Mr. Garland was too overbearing in his pursuit of those involved.

Despite Mr. Trump’s anticipated action, Mr. Garland’s agents and lawyers continue to bring new cases.

The FBI maintains active Be-On-The-Lookouts for what it calls “violent offenders” from Jan. 6, and prosecutors are still filing new charges.

Cases in December include a man authorities say was involved with pushing and obstructing police officers and another accused of thrusting a flagpole at a police officer, “making contact” with him. The man refused to drop the flagpole when ordered to by police, prosecutors said.

Thousands of people descended on the Capitol grounds on Jan. 6, 2021, and more than 2,000 of them breached the building, disrupting the Electoral College count that confirmed President Biden’s 2020 election victory over Mr. Trump.

One woman was shot and killed by a police officer as she and fellow rioters tried to break into an off-limits area near the House chamber, and the subsequent deaths of five police officers — one who suffered a stroke immediately after the riot and four by suicide within seven months of the riot — have been attributed to the stress and chaos of the day.

The Justice Department says $2.8 million worth of damage was done to the Capitol.

Nearly 1,600 people have been charged in federal court. Of those, roughly 600 were charged with resisting or assaulting police.