At least 25 domestic terrorism cases have been opened after US Capitol breach, congressman says Army secretary told him

At least 25 domestic terrorism cases have been opened in the wake of Wednesday’s US Capitol breach that engulfed the nation’s capital in chaos, Army secretary Ryan McCarthy told Democratic Rep. Jason Crow, according to a news release from the congressman’s office.

Crow, a member of the House Armed Services committee, said McCarthy relayed the figure in a phone call Sunday and told him that long guns, Molotov cocktails, explosive devices and zipties were all recovered by authorities as a wide-ranging investigation unfurls.

CNN reached out to McCarthy regarding the call summary and did not receive an immediate response.

The list of domestic terrorism cases that have been opened add to a growing understanding of the extremist elements of the crowd that pushed through barriers set up along the perimeter of the Capitol Wednesday before eventually making their way into the building.

Only after pleading from aides and congressional allies inside the besieged Capitol did President Donald Trump release a video urging the rioters to “go home,” while still fanning their baseless grievances about a stolen election.

And now, as the dust settles and the country struggles to make sense of the violence that left five dead — including an officer with the US Capitol Police — experts warn that the calls for violence have only intensified ahead of Inauguration Day, when President-elect Joe Biden will be sworn in as commander in chief.

“We are seeing … chatter from these white supremacists, from these far-right extremists — they feel emboldened in this moment,” said Jonathan Greenblatt, the CEO of the Anti-Defamation League, which tracks and counters hate. “We fully expect that this violence could actually get worse before it gets better.”

Crow said Sunday that McCarthy “indicated that DOD is aware of further possible threats posed by would-be terrorists in the days up to and including Inauguration Day and is working with local and federal law enforcement to coordinate security preparations.”

The Colorado Democrat also said he raised concerns to McCarthy about “reports that active duty and reserve military members were involved in the insurrection” and that he requested “expedited investigation and courts martial against those involved.”

Crow also requested “review of troops deployed for the inauguration to ensure that deployed members are not sympathetic to domestic terrorists,” to which McCarthy agreed, the call summary from the congressman said.

In all, there are now 20 known federal criminal defendants related to the Capitol riots.