Bill Barr says Justice Department went 'too far' in prosecuting Jan. 6 Capitol riot cases

Former Attorney General Bill Barr said that the Justice Department went "too far" in charging more than 1,200 people in the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot, including those he said simply walked around the building but did not assault anyone.

"Like everything else the left does, they did, I think, go too far," Barr said Saturday, the third anniversary of the Jan. 6 riot, in an interview on Fox News.

Some people, such as those who assaulted police officers and literally broke into the Capitol, should be prosecuted for Jan. 6, Barr said.

"But I think they cast their net far too broadly and have been hounding people that really, you know, just walked into open doors in the Capitol and hung around," he also said. "I think they just took it too far."

Barr said that he does not want to "minimize" the events of Jan. 6, but he thinks it was a "shameful episode" rather than an insurrection. 

The Justice Department said last week that more than 1,265 defendants have been charged in connection to the riot in nearly all 50 states. More than 90% of the defendants, or about 1,186 of them, were charged with entering or remaining in a restricted federal building or grounds.

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