A year after an angry mob stormed the U.S. Capitol, the events of January 6, 2021, seem no less momentous. Crucial to understanding whether that same threat of political violence persists today is knowing who participated, what motivated them to take part, and what has happened to them since.
It will never be known exactly how many people took part in the assault, but as of mid-December, 727 people have been arrested for their actions that day. More than 150 of them have already pleaded guilty. The bulk of the rioters arrested have no documented prior ties to traditional extremist ideologies or movements. Rather, they can be considered radicalized supporters of President Donald Trump, people who bought into a cult of personality surrounding the former president and accepted his conspiracy theories about the election. A substantial minority of the hundreds arrested did, however, have a prior history of right-wing extremism, ranging from far-right Proud Boys to white supremacists to QAnon conspiracy theorists.
