Did police and politicians help in the attack on the Capitol?
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(CNN) -
The evidence uncovered so far about the attack on the United States Capitol - including the weapons and tactics seen by surveillance cameras - suggests a level of planning that has led investigators to believe that the raid did not it was just a protest that got out of hand, a federal law enforcement officer said.
Among the evidence the FBI is examining are indications that some participants at Trump's rally in the Ellipse outside the White House left the event early, perhaps to fetch items they would use in the assault on the Capitol.
A team of investigators and prosecutors is also concentrating on the command and control aspect of the attack.
They are studying travel and communications records to determine if they can build a case that is similar to a counterterrorism investigation, the official said.
LEE: These are the key arrests so far of the protagonists of the Capitol riots
This belief, which arises in the first stage of the investigation, will require significant investigation.
The presence of prosecutors and corruption agents is partly due to their experience in financial investigations.
"We are following the money," said the official.
On Wednesday morning, the FBI reported that it had received more than 126,000 digital leads from the public about the attack on the Capitol.
This is more than three times the number of leads they received on Monday.
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Among the thousands of leads the FBI received are some that appear to show members of Congress with people who were later in the siege of the Capitol, two security officials said.
This does not mean that members of Congress and staff are under investigation.
However, the FBI is verifying the veracity of the claims, officials said.
Counter-terrorism strategy for arrests
At least some of the arrests that have already been made are part of a strategy used in counterterrorism investigations, which seek to find even a minimal charge and try to remove persons of interest from the street.
That helps alleviate potential threats amid concerns about possible attacks on the inauguration, officials believe.
On January 4, for example, local police arrested the leader of the Proud Boys, Henry “Enrique” Tarrio, in Washington.
Tarrio was arrested for allegedly burning a Black Lives Matter banner taken from a black church last month during protests in the city after an earlier "Stop the Steal" rally.
Miami resident Tarrio was charged with destroying property in connection with the banner.
However, federal authorities say they found Tarrio in possession of two high-capacity firearm magazines.
This led them to add a charge.
On Tuesday, federal authorities in New York City arrested Eduard Florea, 40, on at least one weapons charge.
The arrest came after law enforcement, including the FBI and the New York Police Department, went to a Queens home in response to online posts about an armed caravan heading to the Capitol, two told CNN. law enforcement officers with knowledge of the investigation.
Police sources told CNN that the man says he is a Proud Boy and that he was arrested with ammunition at the home.
Did the assault on the Capitol have internal collaboration?
Voluntary surrender by siege of the Capitol
Public efforts by prosecutors and the FBI to encourage people who participated in the riots to turn themselves in are already bearing fruit.
Some attorneys have reached out to arrange for the safe delivery of their clients.
Their goal is to obtain a leniency measure and lessen the possibility of a police raid on their homes, two officials said.
A counterterrorism prosecutor even appeared in court for an early hearing of one of the defendants on Tuesday.
This indicates how integrated the Justice Department's efforts are between criminal prosecutors handling initial hearings and units focused on more complex crimes.
"With this strike force that was established to focus strictly on charges of sedition, we are considering treating this as a major international counterterrorism or counterintelligence operation," US Attorney Michael Sherwin said Tuesday.
“We are analyzing everything: money, travel records.
Examining predisposition, movements, communication records.
Therefore, no resource related to the FBI or the Bureau will be unchecked in terms of trying to determine exactly if there was a command and control, how it operated and how these activities were carried out, "he added.
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