Federal prosecutors to investigate any SC ties to rioters’ storming of US Capitol
Peter McCoy, U.S. Attorney for South Carolina, signaled Wednesday his office will investigate anyone from South Carolina who was involved in criminal acts in the storming of the U.S. Capitol building in Washington.
“Let me be perfectly clear: Federal crimes were violated today at our Nation’s Capitol building. Anyone who traveled from the District of South Carolina with intent to aid this travesty or commit acts of destruction will be prosecuted by @USAO_SC,” McCoy tweeted around 9 p.m.
“The job of the @USAO_SC (U.S. Attorney for South Carolina) is substantial but simple: defend the Constitution, impartially enforce the rule of law, & protect the public against all enemies foreign AND domestic,” McCoy wrote in an earlier tweet, shortly before 6 p.m. Wednesday, as videos of violence at the U.S. Capitol by supporters of President Trump were broadcast around the world.
“Those who gather for purposes of violence and destruction should be prosecuted to the fullest extent,” McCoy tweeted.
On Thursday, the Washington D.C. Metropolitan police released photos taken of some of those involved in Wednesday’s disturbances at the Capitol.
A spokesman for McCoy said the remarks are specifically in response to Wednesday’s violence in Washington if his office gets information about South Carolina connections to the riots in Congressional chambers and offices. Intruders wandered around the empty Senate chamber, chased a Capitol police officer and broke windows. One woman was shot inside the Capitol and later died, according to media reports.
As U.S. Attorney, McCoy has about 50 criminal federal prosecutors who work for him. These prosecutors work with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Drug Enforcement Administration and other federal law enforcement agencies.
McCoy is not alone. The U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio, David DeVillers, said in a public statement, “Make no mistake… Federal crimes were committed today at our nation’s Capital building. Anyone who traveled from the Southern District of Ohio with the intent to commit such crimes will be prosecuted in the Southern District of Ohio.”
Wednesday’s events in the halls of Congress were widely described by media across the country as either a coup attempt, or an attempt to disrupt the prescribed lawful counting of the electoral votes that would give President-elect Joe Biden his formal victory.
According to press accounts, the mobs that stormed Congress on Wednesday had been inspired by an hour-long speech by President Donald Trump, who told his supporters earlier that day that Biden and his allies had stolen the election in multiple battleground states and urged them to go to the Capitol building.
Biden won 306 electoral college votes; Trump won 232. Despite several unsuccessful legal court challenges, all of the election results were certified in all 50 states and the District of Columbia.
This story was originally published January 6, 2021 at 9:43 PM.