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Fact check: What were the most common charges filed against January 6 2021 rioters?
Executive Summary
The most common charges filed in the January 6, 2021, Capitol riot were unauthorized entry and disorderly conduct in restricted federal areas and a large number of assault-related charges against law enforcement, with hundreds charged for assaulting, resisting or interfering with officers and many others charged with misdemeanors such as illegal entry. Prosecutors also pursued a range of other allegations — from property crimes and weapons offenses to conspiracy counts including seditious conspiracy — producing a mix of misdemeanor and felony charges across the cases [1] [2] [3].
1. How the numerical picture lines up: entry offenses dominated early filings
Early counts of defendants show that illegal entry and disorderly conduct were the most frequent initial charges brought against January 6 defendants, reflecting prosecutors’ use of readily provable misdemeanor statutes for many arrested at the Capitol. The dataset assembled by trackers and early court compilations recorded a substantial share of cases filed under statutes for entering or remaining in a restricted building or grounds and related disorderly conduct offenses; these charges provided quick, concrete bases for arrests and initial prosecutions [1] [4]. This pattern appears consistent across multiple case compilations that catalogued hundreds to over a thousand defendants.
2. Assault and interference with officers: the largest single felony category
A separate and substantial category involves charges for assaulting, resisting, or interfering with law enforcement officers; one reporting effort counted roughly 600 such defendants, while other tallies put the number near nearly 500 to 608 accused of assaulting police. Those counts represent the single largest group of felony-level allegations tied to violent conduct during the riot. The prevalence of these charges demonstrates prosecutors’ focus on harms to officers and is reflected in both charging numbers and convictions in trials for physical attacks and use of projectiles or weapons during the breach [2] [5].
3. Misdemeanors versus felonies: a broad spectrum of charges
Across the cases there is a broad mix: hundreds of misdemeanor charges for illegal entry and parading inside the Capitol coexist with numerous felonies for assaults, weapons use, and property destruction. Reporting and compilations highlight that while many defendants faced only misdemeanor counts, a sizable minority were charged with more serious felonies, including use of deadly or dangerous weapons and causing serious injury to officers. This mixed picture reflects prosecutorial triage — easier-to-prove misdemeanors for many, while more serious allegations required additional investigation and evidence [3] [5].
4. Conspiracy and seditious conspiracy: relatively rare but high-profile
Conspiracy charges, including the rare but high-profile seditious conspiracy counts, affected a much smaller number of defendants but carried outsized legal and political significance. Leaders of extremist groups and alleged organizers were the primary targets for these conspiracy indictments; these charges were used in a subset of prosecutions and produced notable convictions that shaped public perception of criminal culpability and organizational coordination. The comparatively low number of seditious conspiracy cases contrasts with the far larger cohort charged with entry and assault offenses [1] [3].
5. Divergent emphases in reporting: quantity versus gravity
Different trackers and outlets emphasize different metrics: one set of reports foregrounds the total number of defendants and the predominance of entry-related misdemeanors, while others highlight the count of assaults and weapons-related felonies or the political significance of conspiracies and pardons. These emphases reflect editorial choices and potential agendas: focusing on total defendants can suggest scale, while emphasizing assault counts or seditious conspiracy targets conveys severity. Interpreting the overall prosecutorial landscape requires reconciling both the volume of misdemeanors and the gravity of a substantial subset of felonies [4] [6].
6. Clemency and political context changed the landscape after prosecutions
Subsequent political actions, notably broad clemency moves reported to have affected hundreds of individuals charged with or convicted of violent felonies, altered the post-conviction consequences for some defendants. That development highlights an intersection between criminal charging patterns and later executive interventions; the clemency actions affected both perceptions of accountability and the legal endpoints for certain cases that originally included assault, weapons, and property-destruction allegations [6]. Reporting on these clemencies underscores the interplay of law enforcement, prosecutorial strategy, and political decision-making.
7. What the counts mean for accountability and research
Taken together, the most common single charges were illegal entry and disorderly conduct, while the largest felony grouping was assaulting or interfering with law enforcement; a smaller but legally consequential set involved conspiracies including seditious conspiracy. For researchers and the public, the key takeaway is that the January 6 prosecutions encompassed a large number of lower-level entry-related cases alongside a significant number of serious assault and conspiracy cases, producing a multifaceted prosecutorial record that cannot be summarized by a single charge type [1] [2] [5].