‘Will follow the facts wherever they lead’: AG Merrick Garland vows to pursue Jan 6 perpetrators at ‘any level’
they are worried about the future of America’s democracy, a USA TODAY/Suffolk University poll found. They disagree on whether the Jan. 6 mob represented an effort to undermine democracy or to fix it. Eighty-five percent of Democrats call the rioters “criminals.” Two-thirds of Republicans say, “They went too far, but they had a point.”
A separate Washington Post/University of Maryland poll found that 1 in 3 believed violence against the government can be supported at times.
More:A year after Jan. 6, Americans say democracy is in peril but disagree on why: USA TODAY/Suffolk poll
At his February confirmation hearing, Garland cast the continuing Capitol riot investigation, which has resulted in charges against more than 700 people, as his “first priority” while offering a stark warning for the politically divisive times.
He told lawmakers that the country faces a “more dangerous period” than when violent domestic forces sparked the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing, which still stands as the most deadly domestic terror attack in U.S. history.
From Oklahoma City to Jan. 6: How the US government failed to stop the rise of domestic extremism
Garland had said he would urge investigators to examine “more broadly” the origins of the attack and determine the risk of future assaults.
But he has repeatedly declined to comment on whether that investigation includes examining the role former President Donald Trump played in the run-up to the assault and on the day it unfolded.
“We have taken action commensurate with how important this act was,” Garland said in an October interview with the New Yorker. “We are doing everything we can to ensure that perpetrators of Jan. 6 are brought to justice…I’m not able to talk about any particular individuals or particular investigations…”