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Over 1000 public figures participated in US Capitol riot, aided Trump’s effort to overturn election

WION Web Team
Washington, United StatesUpdated: Jan 05, 2022, 04:45 PM IST
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Photograph:(AFP)

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Around 140 police officers were assaulted during the riot, according to the Justice Department

More than 1000 public figures in the United States participated in the Capitol riot and aided former President Donald Trump’s effort to overturn the 2020 election as per the Insurrection Index.

Many of these people are either current or former government employees at the federal, state or local level. 213 of them are incumbents in elected office and 29 are running as candidates for positions of power in the upcoming election.

The list also includes 59 military veterans, 31 current law enforcement officials, and seven people on local school boards.

Insurrection Index is a searchable database of records on individuals and organizations in positions of public trust who were involved in the deadly attack on the Capitol on January 6, 2021.

It is the brainchild of Public Wise, a non-partisan organization that aims to ensure fair and equitable voting rights in the US.

“These are folks who silenced the voices of American voters, who took a validly held election and created fraudulent information to try to silence voters. They have no business being near legislation or being able to affect the lives of American people,” said Christina Baal-Owens, the executive director of Public Wise.

Trump on Tuesday called off a planned press conference to mark one year since the riot and said he was cancelling the event at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida "in light of the total bias and dishonesty" of the congressional committee probing the assault by his supporters, and of the media.

Around 140 police officers were assaulted during the riot, according to the Justice Department. One officer who battled rioters died the day after the attack and four who guarded the Capitol later died by suicide. 

Four rioters also died, including one who was shot by police as she tried to climb inside the building through a shattered window.

The US Congress' probe of the deadly January 6 assault on the Capitol by Donald Trump supporters soon begins weeks of public hearings that will put the investigation in the spotlight as campaigning intensifies for the November elections.

The probe into the worst attack on Congress since the War of 1812 has largely played out behind closed doors so far. 

The House of Representatives Select Committee on January 6 has interviewed more than 300 witnesses about the violence by Trump supporters seeking to overturn his election defeat and Trump's response to it.

(With inputs from agencies)