More Than 200 Inauguration Day Protesters Indicted on Rioting Charges

Demonstrators march on the street near a security checkpoint inaugural entrance, Friday, J
AP/Jose Luis Magana

A total of 214 people involved in protests on Inauguration Day in downtown Washington have been indicted on felony rioting charges.

A grand jury in D.C. charged five individuals Tuesday with felony rioting in addition to the 209 other defendants indicted on felony rioting charges earlier in February, CNN reported.

The penalty for felony rioting carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

The protests took place in a four-block stretch around downtown Washington while President Trump was being sworn in.

Protesters burned waste canisters, threw the embers at police, and broke windows of businesses downtown.

Police used pepper spray and “sting balls” against the crowd.

Six police officers suffered minor injuries due to the protests, with three of the officers hit in the head with flying objects, WUSA reports.

The indictment accuses defendants of concealing their identities with dark clothing and accessories through a tactic called “Black Bloc.”

D.C. police said the several hundred violent protesters were outnumbered by the nonviolent protesters in town for the inauguration.

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