Report: DOJ expanding its Jan. 6 investigation to rally planning and financing

A pro-Trump mob at the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.

(Image credit: Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

published 31 March 2022

The Department of Justice has expanded its criminal investigation into the Jan. 6 Capitol attack to look at the financing and planning of a preceding rally attended by former President Donald Trump, people familiar with the matter told The Washington Post.

The rally was held at the Ellipse near the White House, with organizers pushing the false claim that the November 2020 election had been stolen from Trump. The Post reports that in the past two months, a federal grand jury in Washington, D.C., has issued subpoena requests for people who helped plan, fund, and run the rally.

While speaking at the rally, Trump encouraged attendees to make their way to the Capitol. As part of their investigation, the Post writes, FBI agents and prosecutors must "distinguish between constitutionally protected First Amendment activity, such as speech and assembly, and the alleged conspiracy to obstruct Congress or other potential crimes connected to fundraising and organizing leading up to Jan. 6."

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Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.

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