Three weeks in and 150 arrests later, the most sought-after suspects in this month’s insurrection remain at large.
One of them, who allegedly planted one pipe bomb each at the Democratic and Republican party headquarters, was captured on grainy video footage walking through the streets of D.C. the night prior to the Capitol attack.
Separately, the FBI is also investigating the death of Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick, who died of injuries he sustained while engaging with Capitol rioters.
The FBI on Friday upped its reward to $100,000 — from $75,000 and $50,000 before that — for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person who placed the pipe bombs outside the party headquarters.
The bureau said Friday that the individual who placed the bombs actually did so on Jan. 5, the night before the siege, between 7:30 and 8:30 p.m. ET. The individual wore a face mask and distinctive Nike Air Max Speed Turf shoes, the FBI said. The Washington Post on Friday published video of the suspect walking through D.C. on the night they allegedly planted the bombs.
Sicknick’s death has proved another mystery. The exact circumstances of Sicknick’s death have not been publicly revealed, nor is it clear whether police have identified a suspect or suspects in his death.
In a statement the night following the attack, Capitol Police said Sicknick passed away due to injuries sustained on-duty while responding to rioters at the Capitol. Sicknick, per the statement, “was injured while physically engaging with protesters. He returned to his division office and collapsed. He was taken to a local hospital where he succumbed to his injuries.”
Multiple outlets have reported that he died after being struck in the head by a fire extinguisher. The chairman of the Capitol Police union, Gus Papathanasiou, told TPM Friday that he couldn’t confirm that detail, and the Capitol Police did not return TPM’s request for comment. A spokesperson for the FBI declined to comment on Friday, saying the investigation was “ongoing.”
On Tuesday, the bureau published a wanted bulletin showing a man carrying what appeared to be a fire extinguisher through the Capitol, though the alert did not specify whether the man was of interest in Sicknick’s death.
The FBI and U.S. Attorney’s office in Washington, D.C. have devoted a “specialized team” to look at Sicknick’s death, Acting U.S. Attorney Michael Sherwin told reporters during a call this week.
“We’re hopeful we’re going to be able to have results soon in those cases,” Sherwin said.
