Jan 6 Capitol riot is domestic terrorism: FBI Chief

Donald Trump supporters at the US Capitol during the January 6 riot in Washington, DC. Pic/AFP

Christopher Wray, director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), said that the law enforcement agency classifies the deadly January 6 Capitol riot by former President Donald Trump's supporters as domestic terrorism.

"That attack, that siege, was criminal behavior, plain and simple, and it's behaviour that we, the FBI, view as domestic terrorism," Wray said at a hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday, Xinhua news agency reported. Wray said the rioters came from "a variety of backgrounds".

"The attackers on January 6 included a number - and the number keeps growing as we build out our investigations - of what we would call militia violent extremism. And we have had some already arrested who we would put in the category of racially motivated violent extremism, white as well," said Wray.

So far at least 280 people have been arrested with more than 300 charged in the wake of the January 6 attack which interrupted Congress' electoral vote count of the presidential election. Five people died in the attack, including a Capitol police officer.

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