- The Federal Bureau of Investigation is using digital posters at bus stops in Washington, DC, as part of its investigation into the deadly uprising at the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday.
- Photos of the posters, displayed on large monitors at DC bus stops, were shared on Twitter by several journalists.
- The agency is seeking help to identify pro-Trump rioters who stormed the building during the violent uprising that left five people dead.
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The Federal Bureau of Investigation uses digital signs at bus stops in Washington, DC, to ask the public for help in identifying the people who took part in the deadly uprising at the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday.
Reporters, including CNN’s Jim Acosta and HuffPost’s Ryan J. Reilly, shared images of some of them on Twitter, as The Hill noted on Saturday.
—Jim Acosta (@Acosta) 9 January 2021
—Ryan J. Reilly (@ryanjreilly) 9 January 2021
The signs contain photos of individuals seen during the riot on Wednesday. They are appealing to anyone with information about the uprising or those pictured to contact the FBI DC office or the Metropolitan Police Department in the city.
One person was shot dead by police earlier in the week during the riot. Three other people had medical emergencies during the uprising and died as a result. Brian Sicknick, a 42-year-old Capitol police officer, also died after being hit in the head with a fire extinguisher, which brought Wednesday’s death toll to five.
Read more: Secret service experts speculate in group talks about how Trump could be dragged out of the White House if he did not step down on inauguration day.
Supporters of President Donald Trump have trampled on the building after the president encouraged them to come to Washington on January 6 to demonstrate Congress’ certification of the Electoral College.
A message board at a bus stop on Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest advertises a message from the Federal Bureau of Investigation seeking information about violence in the U.S. Capitol on January 9, 2021 in Washington, DC.
Al Drago / Getty Images
In the months following his loss of President-elect Joe Biden, Trump has repeatedly made baseless and false allegations about widespread electoral fraud to justify his loss of supporters. He and his allies could not substantiate the claims and lost dozens of lawsuits that tried to overturn the election results.
But in any case, his supporters turned Washington in a violent prank to stop Congress from formally confirming Biden as the winner of the presidential election.
After Trump addressed his supporters near the White House on Wednesday, thousands of them marched to the Capitol building where many stormed in and overwhelmed the Capitol police. Those who broke in broke into vandalistic congressional offices, posed in the Senate chamber, stole from the offices and otherwise desecrated the building.
Authorities arrested and charged some of the individuals involved in the uprising on Wednesday. In an earlier statement, the FBI said it was appealing to the public to help identify those involved.
“If you have seen illegal acts of violence, we urge you to submit any information, photos or videos that may be relevant,” the FBI said in a statement on its website.
It continued: “Our aim is to preserve the public’s constitutional right to protest by protecting everyone from violence and other criminal activities.”