U.S. charges 55 people with crimes related to Capitol storming. More charges expected to come, acting U.S. attorney says. The U.S. charged 55 people with crimes stemming from the siege of the U.S. Capitol perpetrated by a pro-Trump mob Wednesday, including a man who was arrested near the building with a semi automatic rifle and 11 Molotov cocktails, the Justice Department said. The other cases include charges of unlawful entry and assault, Michael Sherwin, the acting U.S. attorney in the District of Columbia, said at a news conference Thursday. (…) The violent mob stormed the Capitol on Wednesday afternoon, charging past police barriers, smashing windows and sending lawmakers fleeing for safety. The riot, which resulted in four deaths, forced members of Congress to temporarily abandon their formal certification of President-elect Joe Biden’s victory in the November election. The lawmakers returned and completed the certification once the building was secured. (…) Photos and videos of rioters brawling with police and ransacking lawmakers’ officers were widely circulated on social media Wednesday afternoon. Legal experts say a wide variety of crimes — everything from vandalism to sedition — occurred during the riot and that prosecutors could charge offenders even if they walked away from the incident without being detained. Participants could be charged with the “willful injury of federal property,” as well as assaulting law enforcement officers and trespassing, legal experts said. Some could also face more serious charges, including sedition and insurrection, which would require proving an intent to disrupt or even overthrow the government.
via bloomberg: Charges in Capitol Riot Include Man With 11 Molotov Cocktails