FBI Director Wray says bureau will ‘keep digging’ into capitol riot situation

"We're Going To Keep Digging" is the headline with regards to the FBI's plans.

Wray says since when he first became director back in 2017, the number of “domestic violent extremist” investigations opened up has since doubled. The end of his comparison being up until January 6th 2021. He says the arrests related to that day have been from “all over the country” and that 55 of the 56 FBI field offices have open investigations related to that.

The FBI director’s demeanor seemed bitter when looking back at the Trump era. He felt like preparedness in advance for January 6th came off as an administrative blind spot. This was even though the bureau proactively acted in reaching out and making arrests of figures they saw as potentially connected to that day’s rally.

The Biden era comes off a room to grow for the FBI moving forward from a tumultuous time. The subtext reads “optimism.”

But when we add a recent BuzzFeed News story to the equation, a stark reality sets in.

Their most recent piece highlights a crucial fact: many people who were at the US Capitol riot on January 6th were free to go home that day. Very few were arrested. BuzzFeed estimates 800 people total were involved, but only half of that tally will face charges of some kind.

When requested for comment, a DC Metro Police spokesperson pointed toward acting chief Robert Contee’s remarks about the mindset that day. It was "stopping rioters from entering the Capitol and removing people who made it inside; ensuring safe passage for members of Congress to reenter; and making sure Congress could resume the joint session."

Many folks went home that day, and BuzzFeed says that allowed those people to cover their tracks. They cite one case of a woman smashing her phone, as well as people deleting their Facebook accounts and intimidating witnesses. Doing so while the FBI launched the biggest investigation in the bureau’s history, to date, collating tens-of-thousands of different pieces of potential evidence across several different mediums.

Authorities say mass arrests just weren’t possible because police need special gear and locational considerations for processing mass arrests.