Overwhelmed By Capitol Riot Arrests, Justice Department Sends Pleas For Help

With the list of indictments related to the deadly Jan. 6 siege of the Capitol nearing 150 and dozens of more suspects still being sought by authorities, the Department of Justice is asking attorneys' offices nationwide to send help to its overwhelmed Washington office.

An email was sent to federal prosecutors asking for personnel to be sent to Washington to assist with the volume of cases being handled there, ABC News reported Thursday.

The email, from a senior Justice Department official, requested a response by the end of this week.

"The [office] has an urgent need for assistance with prosecuting hundreds of criminal cases," the email read. "Based on the important and immediacy of the need, we ask each United States Attorney to consider whether he or she can offer critical assistance to the [office in Washington]."

As of Wednesday, the Justice Department website listed 147 individuals who have already been charged in connection with the riot that left five people dead, including one police officer. Two more Capitol police officers have died by suicide since the attack, according to a report last month in the Washington Post.

The mob was attempting to force Congress to overturn the certified results of the Nov. 3 election of Joe Biden as president.

The arrest total includes a Washington state member of the Proud Boys, who was arrested and charged Wednesday as well as two men – one from Hawaii and the other from Texas – indicted Wednesday by a Washington, D.C., grand jury.

Former President Donald Trump is facing an impeachment trial in the Senate next week in connection with his alleged role in inciting the violence at the Capitol.

Meanwhile, the FBI's website is still actively pursuing information about dozens of other potential suspects, with a page containing nearly 250 photos shared on various social media outlets since the riot. At least 400 people have been identified in connection with the attack on the Capitol.

Initially, more than a dozen attorneys around the country vowed their offices would prosecute rioters from their jurisdictions.

But while some of those already charged are from the District of Columbia, there are defendants from 39 states, and all have been charged in D.C., according to Michael Sherwin, the acting attorney in Washington.

While most of those who participated in the event left Washington afterward, the criminal activity allegedly took place there, placing it within the jurisdiction of the District Court for the District of Columbia. This fact could prompt many defendants, or more specifically their defense attorneys, to request a change of venue, considering jurors would be pulled from Washington, D.C.

President Biden received 92% of the votes cast in the district.