U.S. panel investigating Capitol riot to release final report next week

WASHINGTON, Dec. 13 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. House select committee investigating the Capitol riot will release its final report next week, its chair said on Tuesday.

U.S. Congressman Bennie Thompson, chair of the panel, said the panel will approve the report on Dec. 19 and release it to the public two days later.

Thompson, a Mississippi Democrat, previously said that they would make "criminal referrals" to the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ).

It would be up to the DOJ to determine whether it would pursue any prosecution based on the committee's recommendations.

Former U.S. President Donald Trump has repeatedly lashed out at the panel and its members made up of seven Democrats and two Republicans.

On Jan. 6, 2021, Trump's supporters stormed the Capitol in Washington, D.C., and disrupted a joint session of Congress to affirm the 2020 presidential election results.

Approximately 140 police officers were assaulted. Authorities have linked at least five deaths to the mayhem.

Over 900 individuals have been arrested in nearly all 50 states for crimes related to the breach of the Capitol, according to the DOJ.