Rioters Sought to ‘Capture and Assassinate’ Officials, U.S. Says

(Bloomberg) -- Rioters who invaded the U.S. Capitol last week were planning to “capture and assassinate” elected officials, according to federal prosecutors seeking to keep an Arizona man in custody.

Government officials want to detain Jacob Chansley, the insurrectionist who was photographed wearing an animal headdress and standing at the dais that Vice President Mike Pence deserted when the rioters laid siege to the building. A court filing Thursday revealed chilling new details of the role Chansley allegedly played in the riot, describing a letter he left for Pence saying, “It’s only a matter of time, justice is coming.”

“Strong evidence, including Chansley’s own words and actions at the Capitol, supports that the intent of the Capitol rioters was to capture and assassinate elected officials in the United States Government,” prosecutors said.

Chansley told law enforcement officials that his letter for Pence was not a threat, but he also referred to the vice president as a “child-trafficking traitor,” according to the filing.

“Although he stated his note was not a threat, the government strongly disagrees,” prosecutors said, urging a federal judge to keep Chansley in custody.

Chansley has been charged with obstruction of an official proceeding, entering and remaining in a restricted building, and disorderly and disruptive conduct, among several other charges.

In recent days, U.S. prosecutors have ramped up the investigation into last week’s riot at the Capitol, with around 200 suspects under scrutiny and law enforcement officials planning charges of sedition and conspiracy. It’s one of the most expansive criminal investigations in the history of the Justice Department, with a wide assortment of agencies helping to build cases, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the U.S. Marshals. All 56 FBI field offices are involved.

“The scope and scale of this investigation in these cases are really unprecedented,” Michael Sherwin, the acting U.S. attorney in Washington, told reporters on Tuesday. “We are going to have, I believe, hundreds of criminal cases.”

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