On Tuesday, Democrat Florida Agricultural Commissioner Nikki Fried ordered the suspension of concealed carry gun licenses belonging to 22 Floridians who are considered suspects in the Jan. 6 breach of the U.S. Capitol.
Fried tweeted, “I just suspended the concealed weapons permits of 22 people involved in the insurrection against the United States of America instigated by Donald Trump on January 6, 2021.”
Fried leads the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS), whose Division of Licensing oversees the issuance of concealed weapon licenses. Fried did not specify what charges the 22 Floridians actually faced, but described their involvement in the Jan. 6 Capitol breach as “sedition, treason, and domestic terrorism.”
“The deeply disturbing events that occurred at our nation’s Capitol on January 6th were sedition, treason, and domestic terrorism – and those individuals involved in the insurrection must be held accountable for attempting to subvert our democratic process,” Fried said. “Since charges began being filed, we are using our lawful authority to immediately suspend the licenses of 22 individuals involved in the storming of the U.S. Capitol. This is an ongoing effort, and as charges and sentences continue in the wake of this despicable attack, we will further suspend and revoke any additional licenses granted to insurrectionists.”
The FDACS Division of Licensing has the ability to immediately suspend a license if the licensee is charged with a felony or certain other disqualifying offenses. Once a judgment is rendered, if the sentence disqualifies, FDACS can revoke the license.
The Jan. 6 Capitol breach came on the day that Trump called on supporters to rally in Washington D.C. as he raised challenges to the 2020 presidential election results. That day, thousands of demonstrators gathered around the U.S. Capitol and hundreds more either forced their way into the building or were allowed in by Capitol Police. Once inside, some demonstrators clashed with police and a joint session of Congress shut down temporarily over security concerns.
During the Jan. 6 incident at the Capitol, four people participating in demonstrations were killed, including Air Force veteran Ashli Babbitt, who was shot by a still-unnamed officer at the Capitol. Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick died the day after the Capitol breach, and while the New York Times initially reported he was bludgeoned with a fire extinguisher, investigators have since ruled out blunt force trauma as a cause of his death.
CBS News reported some 543 defendants have been charged in connection with the Jan. 6 breach of the Capitol. 165 defendants have been charged either with assaulting, resisting, or impeding officers or Capitol employees, including more than 50 who were charged with using either a deadly or dangerous weapon or causing serious bodily injury to an officer. Almost 495 of the defendants were charged with entering or remaining in a restricted building or grounds. More than 55 were charged with entering the Capitol with a dangerous or deadly weapon, more than 35 were charged with destruction of government property and almost 30 were charged with theft of government property.
The FBI told CBS it is still working to identify more than 300 people they believe committed violent acts at the Capitol, including over 200 who assaulted police officers.
