Sedition Hunters

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Sedition Hunters is an online community of open-source intelligence investigators working to identify individuals who took part in the January 6, 2021, United States Capitol attack. [1] [2] [3] They examine still photos and video footage from publicly available sources, social media sites like Twitter and Parler, video platforms, and other social media and submit that research to the FBI in the form of a tip. [4] [5]

The Sedition Hunters community has created and deployed a number of advanced tools to help study the January 6 United States Capitol attack. Among the earliest was an interactive map, [6] [7] showing videos recorded of the event that had embedded GPS location tags. Later, the community created a public facial recognition database [8] to quickly find suspects in terabytes of footage.

The FBI has relied on groups like the Sedition Hunters due to the large number of suspects, estimated at 2,000. [9] [10] [11] [12]

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The January 6 United States Capitol attack was followed by political, legal, and social repercussions. The second impeachment of Donald Trump, who was charged for incitement of insurrection for his conduct, occurred on January 13. At the same time, Cabinet officials were pressured to invoke the 25th Amendment for removing Trump from office. Trump was subsequently acquitted in the Senate trial, which was held in February after Trump had already left office. The result was a 57–43 vote in favor of conviction, with every Democrat and seven Republicans voting to convict, but two-thirds of the Senate are required to convict. Many in the Trump administration resigned. Several large companies announced they were halting all political donations, and others have suspended funding the lawmakers who had objected to certifying Electoral College results. A bill was introduced to form an independent commission, similar to the 9/11 Commission, to investigate the events surrounding the attack; it passed the House but was blocked by Republicans in the Senate. The House then approved a House "select committee" to investigate the attack. In June, the Senate released the results of its own investigation of the attack. The event led to strong criticism of law enforcement agencies. Leading figures within the United States Capitol Police resigned. A large-scale criminal investigation was undertaken, with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) opening more than 1,200 case files. Federal law enforcement undertook a nationwide manhunt for the perpetrators, with arrests and indictments following within days. Over 890 people had been found guilty of federal crimes.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dominic Pezzola</span> American

Dominic Pezzola is an American convicted felon and member of the Proud Boys who participated in the January 6 United States Capitol attack, a violent attack at the U.S. Capitol. He is best known for stealing a police riot shield and using it to break a Capitol window on January 6, 2021, making him the first rioter to breach the building. Indicted in 2021, on federal charges, he was tried in 2023 alongside Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio and his key lieutenants, Ethan Nordean, Joseph Biggs, and Zachary Rehl. In May 2023, following a five-month jury trial, Pezzola was convicted of obstructing a congressional proceeding, assaulting a police officer, and other crimes. He was acquitted of seditious conspiracy, the most serious charge. The jury deadlocked on other charges against Pezzola, including conspiring to obstruct the counting of the electoral votes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Criminal proceedings in the January 6 United States Capitol attack</span> List of people charged with crimes

On January 6, 2021, supporters of then-President Donald Trump attacked the U.S. Capitol Building, disrupting the joint session of Congress assembled to count electoral votes to formalize Joe Biden's victory in the 2020 United States Presidential Election. By the end of the month, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) had opened more than 400 case files and issued more than 500 subpoenas and search warrants related to the riot. The FBI also created a website to solicit tips from the public specifically related to the riot and were especially assisted by the crowdsourced sleuthing group Sedition Hunters. By the end of 2021, 725 people had been charged with federal crimes. That number rose to 1,000 by the second anniversary of the attack, and to 1,200 by the third anniversary, at which point over 890 people had been found guilty of federal crimes. These federal cases are handled by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia (D.C.). State cases, of which there are fewer, are handled in the D.C. Superior Court.

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James Ray Epps is a former United States Marine and Oath Keepers chapter president who was one of the rioters at the United States Capitol on January 6, 2021.

Ryan Stephen Samsel is an American convicted criminal who participated in the January 6 United States Capitol attack. He was charged with several crimes, including forcibly assaulting federal officers; engaging in physical violence in a restricted building or grounds; carrying out an act of physical violence in the Capitol grounds; and obstruction of an official proceeding—the United States Congress’s efforts to certify the election results. Samsel has been in custody since his arrest; his bench trial began in October 2023. In February 2024, he was found guilty.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rachel Powell</span> American convicted felon (born 1980)

Rachel Marie Powell, also known as "Pink Hat Lady" and "Bullhorn Lady", is an American convicted felon known for her participation in the January 6 United States Capitol attack, in which she wore a pink hat and used a bullhorn to instruct other rioters.

References

  1. Morrison, Sara (January 6, 2022). "To catch an insurrectionist". Vox. Retrieved March 13, 2024.
  2. "Online community of so-called 'Sedition Hunters' work to identify the January 6 rioters". CBS News. January 6, 2022. Retrieved March 13, 2024.
  3. Hutton, Alice (June 7, 2021). "Online 'sedition hunters' search for remaining US Capitol rioters, new report claims". The Independent. Retrieved March 13, 2024.
  4. Martínez, A; Yousef, Odette (January 5, 2022). "Amateur sleuths help to identify hundreds of suspected Jan. 6 rioters". Morning Edition . NPR. Retrieved March 13, 2024.
  5. Reilly, Ryan J. (2023). Sedition Hunters: How January 6th Broke the Justice System. PublicAffairs (published October 17, 2023). ISBN   978-1541701809.
  6. Campbell, Ian Carlos (January 15, 2021). "A Parler archive is being converted into an interactive map of the Capitol building attack". The Verge. Retrieved February 12, 2024.
  7. Koebler, Jason; Makuch, Ben (January 13, 2021). "Developer Makes Interactive Map of Parler Videos From Capitol Hill Riots". Vice. Archived from the original on January 14, 2021. Retrieved February 12, 2024.
  8. Rogalski, Jeremy (February 7, 2021). "Interactive map tracks videos recorded during Capitol riot". KHOU . Archived from the original on February 9, 2021. Retrieved February 12, 2024.
  9. Mak, Tim (August 18, 2021). "The FBI Keeps Using Clues From Volunteer Sleuths To Find The Jan. 6 Capitol Rioters". All Things Considered . NPR. Retrieved March 13, 2024.
  10. Feuer, Alan (January 5, 2022). "Prosecutors Move Quickly on Jan. 6 Cases, but One Big Question Remains". The New York Times. Retrieved March 13, 2024.
  11. Richer, Alanna Durkin; Kunzelman, Michael (July 6, 2021). "Hunt for Capitol attackers still on 6 months after Jan. 6". The Detroit News. Retrieved March 13, 2024.
  12. Reilly, Ryan J. (January 5, 2022). "The FBI's Secret Weapon In The Capitol Attack Manhunt". HuffPost. Archived from the original on January 5, 2022. Retrieved January 5, 2022.