- Federal investigators are deepening their investigation into the January 6 riot, according to CNN.
- Feds are looking into possible links between lawmakers and suspected rioters before the siege.
- If a connection is established, lawmakers and staff must hand over personal communications.
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Federal agencies responsible for investigating the January 6 uprising are reviewing communications between lawmakers and members of the pro-Trump mob, according to a new CNN report.
According to a US official who spoke to CNN, investigators are trying to determine whether those who violated the Capitol were helped directly or indirectly by lawmakers before the uprising.
According to the CNN report, there have been indications so far of contact between lawmakers and rioters in the run-up to the uprising.
Some who planned or participated in the January 6 meeting indicated their relationships with members of Congress; as Insider previously reported “Stop the Steal”, organizer Ali Alexander says three members of Congress helped him plan the protest that preceded the siege of the Capitol.
However, investigators have not yet sought warrants for the personal communications of lawmakers, nor have they found any concrete evidence that lawmakers instructed the people in the mob.
More than 300 members of the mob were charged on January 6, and many more are facing federal and local charges. Insider has created a searchable database of every suspected riot so far.
According to CNN, the Department of Justice has commissioned more than 20 prosecutors to determine which groups organized the Capitol siege, which may have funded rioters, and whether there is a link between lawmakers, their staff and suspected rioters.
Investigators have access to cell phone tower data, which they used to track down those who violated and left the Capitol on Jan. 6 without being arrested immediately, according to CNN. And federally, the FBI has been allowed to collect phone metadata as well as geolocator data for investigations.
According to the report, law enforcement officers followed an “exclusion list” to track down rioters who entered the Capitol, to isolate approved mobile devices that were allowed and to utilize the metadata of those who were not allowed in the building.
The CNN report added that Democrats are urging investigators to review Capitol police security footage to determine whether members of Congress were touring the organizers of the Stop the Steel protest and violation before Jan. 6. which is claimed by some Democratic members of Congress. .
Insider reached out to the FBI and the Department of Justice for comment.