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Justice Department drops charges against Capitol insurrectionist for first time

Posted at 10:54 AM, Jun 02, 2021
and last updated 2021-06-02 12:54:58-04

The Justice Department is dismissing a case against a New York man charged in connection to the Jan. 6 deadly attack on the Capitol.

It's the first time the agency is dropping a charge related to the January 6 riot.

The man was charged after the FBI says it received an anonymous tip showing the man at the Capitol. It's unclear why prosecutors moved to drop the case.

In themotion seeking dismissal, prosecutors wrote "the government and defense counsel have discussed the merits of the case, and upon reflection of the facts currently known to the government, the government believes that dismissal without prejudice at this time serves the interests of justice.”

More than 400 people have been charged so far in connection with the violent attack at the U.S. Capitol Building.

Meanwhile, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is ruling out a presidential commission to review what happened on Jan. 6.

Instead, she laid out other options for investigating the attack, including having the House look into it.

Remember, last week Senate Republicans blocked an independent commission that would review the attack.

Simon Kaufman and Alex Livingston on Newsy.com contributed to this report.