The January 6 Insurrectionists: Who They Are and What They Did

Abstract

This report is based on the aggregation and analysis of the Department of Justice’s legal filings and arrests between January 6, 2021, and January 6, 2022. These records provide a window into what the Department of Justice knew about the Capitol riots and when they knew it. The information presented in this report is largely independent of the information shared with the public by the U.S. House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol (January 6 Committee). However, this report will show that much of what the January 6 Committee exposed had been known months earlier through Department of Justice public legal documents and other legal filings.

The complete story of the events of January 6 will not be known for years, perhaps decades, as the details continue to emerge through the hearings of the January 6 Committee, the plea deals and trials of those charged by the Department of Justice, along with other disclosures and investigative reports. Choosing as its milestone the first year after the January 6th events, this Report performs three services. First, it gathers in one place information about the range of prosecutions the Government is pursuing to ascertain what the Department of Justice believes are provable facts of that day’s events and those leading up to it. Second, it conducts a preliminary analysis of those the United States charged to shine a light on a question that resonates with many Americans: just who are these people? Third, it sheds light on what the Department of Justice knew and when. The initial charges drafted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) for all arrested individuals showcase both the details that the government knew about each defendant and when the Department of Justice knew of the arrests. Most strikingly, the Department of Justice learned of the evidence of conspiracy and began arresting the conspirators within days of January 6.

The profile of the 716 and their characteristics mostly mirror the profile of Americans as a whole according to the US Census - minus striking differences in race and gender.

Note: Please Download the PDF to link to the Power Bi data set directly after the table of contents.

Keywords: January 6, Capitol Riots, Department of Justice, Oath Keepers, Proud Boys, Political Violence, Insurrection, Domestic Terrorism, President Trump, Donald Trump, FBI, January 6 Committee