Non-political. Simply curious from a legal perspective. By what criteria it is decided, “Yes, charge this person” and “No, do not charge this person”
In: Other
Like most criminal cases, a big factor is what kind of evidence do they have, and do the district attorney/prosecutors think they have enough solid evidence that they’ve got a decent shot at getting a conviction.
There are certainly other factors. Even if you don’t think your evidence is water-tight, if the crime is significant enough, it still might make sense to pursue it and roll the dice with bringing a case.
In regards to the Capitol Riots, there’s a ton of potential cases to be brought, so they seem to have focused more on cases where they have evidence that specific individuals did more than just wander around the area, and have prioritized charging people who actively destroyed property and/or committed violence.
But it was a big event with a ton of people and a ton of evidence, so it’s all pretty complicated and there’s no single rule/guideline that explains everything.
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