The three were arrested early in the morning on a ranch in the southern state of Florida, the FBI said. They are accused of various offenses, including resisting and attacking public servants.
The FBI had offered a large reward of $30,000 (€27,470.01) for the capture of one of the three suspects, Jonathan Pollock. The 24-year-old was described as “armed and dangerous”. He is said to have violently attacked several police officers during the storming of the Capitol on January 6, 2021 and dragged one down a flight of stairs.
Around 1,300 charges so far
Olivia Pollock and Joseph Hutchinson, who is also said to have hit and kicked several police officers, were also arrested. Olivia Pollock – according to media reports, Jonathan Pollock’s sister – is also said to have become violent towards police officers.
Almost 1,300 charges have been filed so far in connection with the storming of the Capitol by radical supporters of the then-elected, right-wing populist President Donald Trump. Hundreds of defendants were sentenced to prison. Several people died in the riots and 140 police officers were injured.
Attempted overthrow
Investigators have classified the storming as an attempted coup to keep Trump in power and prevent the Democrats from inaugurating the new President-elect Joe Biden. Trump had encouraged his supporters to storm the building in a speech shortly beforehand. However, according to a current survey by the Washington Post and the University of Maryland, which was published a few days ago, 39 percent of US citizens believe that the storming of the Capitol was the result of an FBI conspiracy.
Bild: (APA/AFP/BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI)
The 77-year-old Trump has not yet admitted his election defeat and wants to run for a second term in office in the fall. He is given a good chance if he is the candidate of his Republican Party against Biden. A ruling by the US Supreme Court on Trump’s exclusion from the election is eagerly awaited at the beginning of February. The US state of Colorado denied Trump his candidacy, citing the 14th Amendment to the Constitution. This article allows for the exclusion of insurgents from elections.
