The American federal police announced this Saturday, January 6, the arrest of three people actively wanted for their participation in the assault on the Capitol on January 6, 2021.
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They will ultimately spend the third anniversary of their participation in the Capitol invasion behind bars. Jonathan Pollock, his sister Olivia and Joseph Hutchinson were arrested early Saturday at a ranch in Groveland, Florida, where they were hiding. They will appear Monday in federal court in the city of Ocala, located in the center of the peninsula. The three suspects are being prosecuted in particular for assault on civil servants, disturbing public order within the Capitol grounds and violent intrusion without authorization.
However, until now, Jonathan Pollock had managed to remain undetectable. The police offered a $30,000 reward for information leading to the whereabouts of the 24-year-old welder. considered armed and dangerous “. His sister Olivia and Joseph Hutchinson, an employee of the arms store run by the Pollock family, had been wanted since last March. The duo had been released while awaiting their trial, but had fled, specifies our correspondent in New York, Carrie Nooten.
A sprawling investigation
The FBI has not yet given details of their capture, but it did not fail to communicate on this symbolic arrest which shows how much the federal agency is mobilized in this sprawling investigation which is still ongoing. In 35 months, the American authorities have charged more than 1,200 people, in almost the 50 states of the country, for their participation in the insurrection of January 6, 2021 which aimed to prevent the certification of the victory of Democrat Joe Biden in the presidential election of November 3, 2020. More than half were convicted. One of the few rioters who left the country in March 2022 requested asylum in Belarus.
Donald Trump has never admitted his defeat in this election and vigorously denies having incited his supporters to attack the seat of Congress. The central question of his responsibility in this historic event, from which his possible ineligibility for the 2024 presidential election could arise, will be examined on February 8 by the Supreme Court. For the moment, he remains the big favorite in the Republican primaries.
According to a poll published this week, carried out jointly by the Washington Post and the University of Maryland, 39% of Americans believe that the assault on the Capitol was the result of a plot hatched by the FBI.
(And with AFP)