DC Attorney General says Trump, others, ‘hyped up’ crowd that stormed Capitol building
WASHINGTON - D.C.’s top law-enforcement official on Monday said he is working to bring those responsible for last week’s violence on Capitol Hill to justice.
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Attorney General Karl Racine’s office issued a statement indicating that while he’s not specifically targeting President Donald Trump, prosecutors are conducting a "full investigation and [will] let the facts an law determine what charges, if any, are to be brought against responsible individuals."
The prosecutor stopped short of saying the president committed a crime, but noted that he is investigating every layer of the attack on the Capitol building.
The AG made the comments shortly after an interview with NBC’s Andrea Mitchell, in which he suggested that the President, as well as his son Donald Trump Jr., made "outrageous comments" that "hyped up" and "juiced up" the crowd that assailed the Capitol Building.
Shortly after a rally featuring President Donald Trump, in which he concluded by inviting protesters to "march to the Capitol building," activists poured into the nation’s legislative center and wreaked havoc.
Five people died as a result of the mayhem – including a U.S. Capitol police officer.
Racine believes Trump – and other Republican figures – "riled up" the crowd, rather than calming them down.
"I know that I’m looking at a charge under the D.C. code of inciting violence and that would apply where there is a clear recognition that one’s incitement could lead to foreseeable violence. We still have more investigation to do, and that’s what we’re going to do. We’re going to work zealously and fully and let the facts lead to where they naturally go," Racine said.
The FBI and other law enforcement agencies have made dozens of arrests following the chaos that erupted on Capitol Hill. According to D.C. police, only one of the suspects was a resident of the nation’s capital.