"FBI agents are coming to find you."
WASHINGTON -- Investigators have identified more than 200 suspects in their probe of the January 6 attack at the U.S. Capitol and arrested more than 100 individuals, FBI Director Chris Wray said Thursday in his first public appearance since the riot.
"We know who you are if you're out there, and FBI agents are coming to find you," he said during an inauguration security briefing at Federal Emergency Management Agency headquarters in Washington with Vice President Mike Pence.
Wray's comments come as federal investigators are chasing thousands of leads in twin efforts to prosecute people involved in last week's attack on the U.S. Capitol and to try to prevent feared follow-up attacks in Washington and around the country.
The challenge, FBI and Justice Department officials say, is "unprecedented" and Wray addressed the duality of the current situation in his comments Thursday by speaking directly to those who may be considering taking part in violent acts going forward.
"My advice to people who might be inclined to follow in the footsteps of those who engaged in the kind of activity we saw last week is stay home," he said. "Look at what's happening now to the people who were involved in the Capitol siege."
Yet, while federal law enforcement officials have sought to reassure the American public in recent days that they are up to the task on both fronts, their public remarks also lay bare the enormity of the challenge they face in tracking potential threats to not only the nation's capital, but across the country.
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