The investigation into the storming of the US Capitol continues.
Now the FBI is checking whether the attackers received help from the Capitol.
Washington, DC - As part of the investigation into the storming of the U.S. Capitol in Washington on January 6, the FBI is investigating whether the leaders of the attack were in contact with various members of the Congress and their employees.
There is suspicion that the right-wing radical groups that forcibly invaded the US Capitol received help from Congress in this operation.
So far, neither the Justice Department nor the FBI has officially commented on the investigation.
As reported by the US news broadcaster CNN, officials had anonymously announced that the possible existence of such communication data should not yet be assessed as a misconduct or criminal offense.
USA: Capitol Storm - did attackers get help from congressmen and their staff?
Should the suspicion of collaboration between members of Congress and the leaders of the attack solidify, the FBI has the opportunity to investigate the content of the communication with the help of a court order.
According to CNN, it has not yet been clarified whether the investigators were able to view messages from the defendants in which they reported alleged contacts with members of the Congress.
After the attack on the US Capitol, security agencies collected cellular data from people who were not allowed to be in the Capitol.
This procedure is permitted from a legal point of view.
Nonetheless, FBI Director Christopher Wray was questioned about security operations at a Congressional hearing last week.
Republicans Josh Hawley and Mike Lee suspected that the investigators might exceed their powers.
Capitol Storm: Attackers knew their way around
Shortly after the attack on the US Capitol on January 6, the US media reported that individual members of the Republican Party would support the attackers.
It was previously known that several groups of visitors were said to have been in the Capitol before the attack, which is currently not allowed due to the corona pandemic.
Several Democratic MPs are said to have observed that the attackers knew their way around the Capitol.
Meanwhile, there are still concerns about the security in the US Congress.
The police responsible for security had therefore requested that the National Guard continue to be used to protect the US Congress.
Actually, the mission should have ended this week.
However, the application was accepted, which is why the National Guard will remain in action until May.
A particular trigger in this context was the reference to a renewed attack on the Capitol on March 4th.
However, this did not happen.
Donald Trump reaps another complaint: incitement to riot
In addition, Donald Trump was charged by Democratic Congressman Eric Swalwell in the Washington District Court for inciting riot.
His eldest son, Donald Trump Junior, as well as the ex-president's lawyer Rudy Giuliani, and MP Mo Brooks were also sued.
All four had spoken at a rally shortly before the attack on the Capitol on January 6th and incited the audience.
The impeachment trial against Donald Trump, in which Eric Swalwell was also a prosecutor and in which the ex-president was also accused of inciting a riot, failed.
(Astrid Theil)
