Capitol Riot

Feds Aren't Using Posts About Plans to Attack Capitol as Evidence

In this Jan. 6, 2021, file photo, rioters storm the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C.
John Minchillo/AP Photo

FBI officials have repeatedly said they gathered no credible intelligence in the weeks leading up to the Jan. 6 insurrection suggesting that pro-Trump extremists intended to storm the U.S. Capitol.

And even after months of intensive investigation, Justice Department prosecutors have presented no evidence so far that any of the 420 individuals charged to date for their actions on Jan. 6 planned in advance to attack the building in which Congress was certifying Joe Biden's victory in the presidential election.

But a new report by a private research group, and a separate review by NBC News, uncovered hundreds of social media posts discussing plans to move on the Capitol, including a map of the facility and talk of how to create a stampede that would overwhelm Capitol Police.

The posts raise questions about whether the FBI missed or failed to act on these threats, and why federal prosecutors have so far said in court they have not determined whether anyone planned the attack in advance. A Justice Department spokesman and the FBI declined to comment.

Read the full story at NBCNews.com.

The FBI released new videos of the person suspected of planting two pipe bombs the night before the January riot at the U.S. Capitol.
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