Federal authorities have announced an increased $75,000 reward for information leading to the suspect who planted pipe bombs around Washington, D.C., during the deadly Jan. 6 siege at the U.S. Capitol.
A masked man — photographed wearing a hooded sweatshirt, dark jeans and sneakers, and carrying a backpack — remains at large more than two weeks after angry supporters of former President Donald Trump stormed Congress in a desperate attempt to overthrow a vote to confirm Joe Biden’s election win.
»MORE: FBI tracks riot suspects through private messages on Facebook
As rioters overwhelmed security and ransacked the building, two improvised explosive devices were reported outside Republican National Committee headquarters and Democratic National Committee headquarters — only a couple blocks from Capitol grounds, reports said.
The bombs were “real devices” set with timers that never went off, said Steven D’Antuono, the assistant director in charge of the FBI’s Washington field office, who suggested the bombs may have been planned as a diversion to slow the emergency response to the Capitol.
The devices ultimately caused no harm and were later destroyed.
The unidentified suspect — a man of average height and build — remains at large.
The investigation is getting its own focus, separate from the hundreds of other criminal cases filed so far in the riot, D’Antuono said.
The FBI increased the reward amount from $50,000, which was offered the day after the bombs were found.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives is also investigating.
The voluminous probe into the riot has so far collected more than 100,000 “pieces of digital media” — evidence that has resulted in at least 100 arrests.
»MORE: GOP congressman stopped before bringing gun into House chamber
Prosecutors are focusing closely on the role played by anti-government militias and other extremists groups, whose members have been arrested for taking part in the mob.
Several have been tied to violent right-wing extremist organizations including the Oath Keepers, Proud Boys and Three Percenters, among several others.
Photos and video revealed certain actors weaving through the raucous crowd outside the Capitol with military-like precision and carrying flex-cuffs to presumably take hostages.
Teams of men appeared to be tactically trained and were observed using hand signals and two-way radios to communicate amid the chaos, The New York Times reported. Dozens of current and former military service members and public servants including police officers and firefighters also participated, according to reports.
The rioters were incited by months of false claims by Trump and others in the GOP who spread the unsubstantiated notion that widespread voter fraud got Biden elected and cheated the incumbent out of a second term.
Judges across the country — including many appointed by Trump — dismissed at least 60 cases seeking to upend the election results, citing lack of evidence. The Supreme Court also twice refused to take up the issue. Nonetheless, the frenzy stirred up by Trump’s continuous false claims reached a boiling point at the much anticipated joint session of Congress, which convened the afternoon of Jan. 6 to declare Biden the winner of the Electoral College.
The rioters bowled over an ill-equipped Capitol security force and easily breached the building.
Congressional offices and chambers were ransacked as the mob chanted “Kill Mike Pence!”
Lawmakers hid the Electoral College ballots and scrambled to safety. Five people died, including a Capitol Police officer. A Georgia man who participated in the insurrection later died by suicide.
Recent arrests of white nationalists in Ohio, Colorado, Indiana and Texas have helped law enforcement develop a clearer understanding about the depth of the assault.
Social media platforms including Facebook have been handing over private messages and other data to authorities in the ongoing effort to round up hundreds of perpetrators across the country.
Seth Jones, a terrorism expert with the Center for Strategic & International Studies, said American acts of domestic terrorism are often carried out by individuals instead of organized groups, making it difficult for law enforcement to uncover and thwart plots. In such instances, information from a person’s family members and friends becomes critical, he said — and that will remain true as the nation looks to confront the increasing domestic radicalization moving forward.
Jones, however, cautioned neighbors against spying on each other but said people need to give authorities information about a loved one or friend who has become radicalized toward violence and talks about hurting people or encourages violence against others.
The FBI is still hoping more people will come forward with information about the Capitol attack.
Information provided by Tribune News Service was used to supplement this report.
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