The U.S. Justice Department and FBI announced charges Friday against a freshman West Virginia lawmaker, an Arkansas man who told the media he posed for photos on a desk in House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s office and an Alabama man whose truck allegedly carried 11 molotov cocktails and a semiautomatic rifle to this week’s U.S. Capitol riots.
The cases come as authorities in Washington continue working to identify members of the mob who stormed the Capitol — many of whom posted images of themselves on social media amid the mayhem.
A nationwide dragnet involving hundreds of prosecutors and agents from all 56 FBI field offices is involved in the effort, which “has the highest priority” of the DOJ, said Kenneth C. Kohl, a top official in the federal prosecutor’s office in Washington. Continue reading.