MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 21st February, 2021) The US Justice Department and FBI have launched an investigation to establish if any ties connect the Capitol Hill riots to several high-profile individuals with rightist views, including ex-presidential adviser Roger Stone, The Washington Post reported, citing sources.
On January 6, supporters of ex-President Donald Trump stormed the US Congress building while lawmakers inside were certifying his defeat to Joe Biden in the November presidential election. The unrest left five people killed and caused Trump a second impeachment process for the "incitement of violence."
"We are investigating potential ties between those physically involved in the attack on the Capitol and individuals who may have influenced them, such as Roger Stone, [InfoWars founder] Alex Jones and [Stop the Steal organizer] Ali Alexander," an anonymous US official, familiar with the investigation, was quoted as saying in the report.
The investigation itself is not going to end in criminal prosecution, the sources were cited as saying.
Rather, Stone, Jones and Alexander are probed within a larger investigation into the motives and intentions of hundreds of people who stormed the Capitol on January 6. According to the report, investigators want to determine if the responsibility of people who influenced the motives of rioters is enough to bring criminal charges against them, such as conspiracy or aiding the effort.
Roger, a confidant and former aide to Trump, was sentenced to 40 months in prison within the Mueller investigation for lying to Congress. He was pardoned by the ex-US president in December.
