The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia said they are continuing to evaluate the cases against approximately 230 people who were arrested on Inauguration Day in Washington.
A spokesman for the office said the accused were making their first appearances in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia. News4's Scott MacFarlane reported 230 people have been charged with felony rioting.
Bill Miller, the public information officer for the U.S. Attorney's Office, said most of those arrested will face a possible sentence of up to 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $25,000.
The first group to face the judge were released and ordered back to court on Feb. 26. MacFarlane said the judge told them not to get arrested again in D.C.
As the suspects were released, a crowd outside D.C. Superior Court cheered, News4's Meagan Fitzgerald reported. And there was a familiar site for the suspects -- police lined up in riot gear.
The majority of Friday's protests were peaceful, but police clad in riot gear faced off against hundreds of demonstrators downtown near 12th and K streets, about six blocks from where Trump would soon hold his inaugural parade, D.C. police said.
While several peaceful demonstrations unfolded near the Captiol, about a mile away police gave chase to a group of about 300 protesters, who smashed windows of downtown businesses during a pre-inauguration march.
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Police dressed in riot gear used pepper spray to quell the disturbance and eventually cordoned off the large crowd near Franklin Square. As protesters fled the scene, six officers suffered "minor injuries" in what Newsham called "coordinated attacks."
