Former Attorney General Bill Barr says the Justice Department cast its net “too widely” when prosecuting people who were at the Capitol on January 6.
Barr made the comment while speaking with Neil Cavuto on Fox News to mark the third anniversary of the protest.
“Well, you know, like everything else the left does, I think they've gone too far,” Barr told Cavuto on Saturday.
“I think there were people involved in the events of January 6, especially the people who attacked the police and stormed the Capitol, there were people who should have been prosecuted, but I think they cast their nets too wide and were going after people,” Barr said. “This really, you know, wanted “Just opening the doors at the Capitol and hanging out.”
Former U.S. Attorney General Bill Barr on Trump's appeal of Colorado's ballot ban: “The effort to take him off the ballot and deprive people of choice…we can't have all the states setting their own rules as to what constitutes insurrection and evidence is needed to make a decision.” pic.twitter.com/R2uRfSOz5a
– Neil Cavuto (@TeamCavuto) January 6, 2024
Barr served as attorney general for former presidents Donald Trump and George H.W.
He added that he did not want to “downplay” what happened that day but that he “did not believe it was an insurrection.”
“It was clearly a shameful incident, and some of the people involved should be prosecuted,” Barr said.
Barr also condemned efforts to remove Trump from the ballot.
“The effort to take it off the ballot and deprive people of choice… We can't have all the states set their own rules as to what constitutes insurrection and evidence is needed to make a decision.”
More than 1,200 people were charged with federal crimes for being at the Capitol that day. Many of them were simply walking around.
Hill reports:
In what has become the largest criminal investigation in American history, prosecutors are still searching for suspects and continue to ask for the public's help in identifying at least 80 people.
A federal court ruled Friday that rioters who were passive during the attack can be found guilty of disorderly conduct.
At least two dozen defendants are seeking to have their cases delayed until the Supreme Court decides whether the Justice Department legitimately applied the obstruction charge used to prosecute the rioters. Some are seeking to halt upcoming hearings while some who have already been sentenced are hoping to be released from prison.
