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Top federal prosecutor in Michigan seeks tips on Capitol mob
By DAVID EGGERT, Associated Press
LANSING, Mich., Jan. 7, 2021 (AP): A top federal prosecutor in
Michigan on Thursday urged people to give tips to the FBI if
they are aware of people who joined a violent mob that stormed
the U.S. Capitol in an attempt to overturn the presidential
election.
U.S. Attorney Matthew Schneider,
whose jurisdiction covers a 34-county area including
metropolitan Detroit, said investigators will review video
footage and other evidence. Six Michigan men ranging in age from
25 to 64 were arrested by D.C. police—four for curfew
violations, one for unlawful entry and violating the curfew, and
one on gun charges.
Those types of crimes will be prosecuted by the U.S. attorney
for Washington, D.C., Schneider said. But more serious
charges—destruction of property over $1,000, inciting a riot,
civil disorder, sedition, using a destructive device like a pipe
bomb—could potentially be handled in Michigan, he said, if there
are connections to the state.
``It looks like the acts took place in Washington, D.C. But it's
under review right now—what's the connection of the people in
D.C. to the people in Michigan? That's going to take time to
figure out,'' Schneider said. ``I'm personally disgusted and
horrified by this. It's just nauseating to me. It's sick what
people did inside the Capitol.``
D.C. police said Thursday that 68 people were arrested,
while Capitol police said 14 were arrested, most for unlawful
entry. More than 50 Capitol and D.C. police were injured,
including several who were hospitalized.
``If you're aware of people who might have traveled from
Michigan to go to Washington, D.C., to commit acts of violence,
then that could potentially be a federal crime,`` Schneider
said. ``There's a big difference here between peaceful protests
and acts of violence. ... Just because people traveled to
Washington, D.C., doesn't necessarily make them criminals.''
Meshawn Maddock,
who is expected to be elected the next co-chair of the state
Republican Party, told a crowd in the nation's capital on
Tuesday—a day before the violence—that at least 19 busloads of
supporters of President Donald Trump were traveling there from
Michigan. Her husband, state Rep. Matt Maddock, also spoke and
was among GOP state lawmakers who unsuccessfully asked Vice
President Mike Pence to delay confirmation of Democrat Joe
Biden's win.
It was unclear if Matt Maddock joined protesters at the Capitol
on Wednesday, but Meshawn Maddock retweeted a video of marchers
and called it ``the most incredible crowd and sea of people I've
ever walked with.'' In a text to The Associated Press, she said
she was ``never at the Capitol at all.'' A message was left with
Matt Maddock on Thursday.
Trump told a morning crowd near the White House that he would go
with protesters to the Capitol, but he did not. Instead, he sent
them off with incendiary rhetoric.
Some Democratic legislators said Matt Maddock should be
censured, while the national Democratic Legislative Campaign
Committee called for his resignation or removal from office.
Lynn Afendoulis, spokeswoman for Republican House
Speaker-elect Jason Wentworth, said he ``hasn't seen any
action on Rep. Maddock's part that rises to the level of
disciplinary action.''
After being criticized by the state Democratic Party, Meshawn
Maddock issued a statement to condemn the violence and Capitol
breach. ``The rally was supposed to be a peaceful event and
people who broke the law should be held accountable,'' she
tweeted. Some GOP activists called for Ron Weiser, the
unopposed candidate for party chair, to replace her on the
ticket before a February convention.
Incoming House Democratic Leader Donna Lasinski wrote a
letter to Wentworth saying 18 House Republicans who wrote to
Pence or earlier joined futile lawsuits challenging Biden's
victory—nearly a third of the caucus—should disavow their
actions or face discipline, ``up to and including not seating
them in the 101st Legislature without disavowing their support
of unproven conspiracy theories and actions, undermining our
democracy and encouraging the violent overthrow of our
government.''
The new two-year session begins this week.
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