Federal Prosecutors Claim New Video Shows Howard County Man Matthew Miller Pushing Crowd To Enter US Capitol During Riots
WASHINGTON (WJZ) -- The FBI is continuing to search for more people involved in the deadly attack on the U.S. Capitol last month.
At least nine Marylanders are facing charges.
In a new filing, federal prosecutors said they found additional video showing Matthew Miller from Howard County trying to enter the U.S. Capitol, claiming he was part of a crowd chanting "heave ho" and yelling "push" as rioters tried to breach the building.
"Our capital was under attack. These individual members' lives were at risk. The Capitol Police were out there putting themselves on the line to protect our democracy," said Maryland Senator Chris Van Hollen of the violent day.
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Professor Michael Greenberger with the University of Maryland Carey School of Law's Center for Health and Homeland Security said it is crucial for prosecutors to send a message with these cases.
"Maybe even more important than the question of whether Trump should be impeached is whether these rioters are taught a lesson," Greenberger told WJZ Investigator Mike Hellgren. "Some of them are defending on the grounds that they were only doing the president's bidding... The full weight of criminal law—federal and state—should be brought to bear as a lesson to people because, my own view is, a lot of these rioters did not fully understand the trouble they were going to get themselves into."
Some defendants like Miller remain jailed while others like Rachel Powell of Pennsylvania, who is accused of using a battering ram to get into the Capitol and directing rioters with a bullhorn, are free awaiting trial despite the judge saying Powell showed no remorse.
Also Monday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced that lawmakers will create an independent commission—like the one that investigated the 9/11 attacks—to take a comprehensive look into the Capitol riot.
Professor Greenberger said he is "somewhat skeptical" and noted, "Those commissions take a long time. There can be tremendous partisanship within the commission itself. I've been a witness for several, and I've always felt they go on too long and don't really achieve the purposes of justice, but if they want to do it, fine."
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