US now says no evidence of 'kill capture teams' at US Capitol

The comments by Acting US Attorney Michael Sherwin appeared to be an effort to walk back claims that federal prosecutors in Arizona had made in a court filing late on Thursday.

An explosion caused by a police munition is seen while supporters of US President Donald Trump gather in front of the US Capitol Building in Washington, US, January 6, 2021 (photo credit: REUTERS/LEAH MILLIS)
An explosion caused by a police munition is seen while supporters of US President Donald Trump gather in front of the US Capitol Building in Washington, US, January 6, 2021
(photo credit: REUTERS/LEAH MILLIS)
The top federal prosecutor in Washington, DC said on Friday there is no "direct evidence" to suggest that rioters who stormed the US Capitol had formed "kill capture teams."

The comments by Acting US Attorney Michael Sherwin appeared to be an effort to walk back claims that federal prosecutors in Arizona had made in a court filing late on Thursday, in which they claimed there was evidence that rioters intended "to capture and assassinate elected officials."

Sherwin said that his office is leading the prosecution effort, but as local offices help to run down suspects in their districts, there may have been a "disconnect" on the evidence obtained so far in the cases.

Late on Thursday, federal prosecutors had made sweeping claims about the ongoing investigation in a filing as they asked a judge to detain Jacob Chansley, an Arizona man and QAnon conspiracy theorist photographed wearing horns as he stood at the desk of Vice President Mike Pence in the chamber of the US Senate.

Chansley is due to appear in federal court later on Friday.