U.S. House panel investigating Capitol riot makes criminal referrals

File photo taken on Jan. 6, 2021 shows supporters of U.S. President Donald Trump gathering near the U.S. Capitol building in Washington, D.C., the United States. (Xinhua/Liu Jie)

The criminal referrals are not legally binding, and it is up to the Department of Justice to decide whether to pursue charges, according to U.S. legal analysts.

WASHINGTON, Dec. 19 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. House select committee investigating the Capitol riot of Jan. 6, 2021, made criminal referrals to the Department of Justice (DOJ) on Monday afternoon.

The committee accused former U.S. President Donald Trump of inciting an insurrection, conspiracy to defraud the United States, conspiracy to make a false statement, and obstruction of an official proceeding.

The criminal referrals are not legally binding, and it is up to the DOJ to decide whether to pursue charges, according to U.S. legal analysts.

The DOJ is running its own probe into the Capitol riot, in which Trump supporters disrupted a joint session of Congress on Jan. 6, 2021, to certify the 2020 presidential election results.

A Republican, Trump lost to Democrat Joe Biden in the 2020 White House race but has refused to acknowledge defeat and continues to promote unsubstantiated claims that the election was rigged.

The committee, made up of seven Democrats and two Republicans, also voted to approve its final report at Monday's session, which will be released on Wednesday.

Trump, who launched a third bid for the White House last month, has repeatedly lashed out at the committee and described the investigation and other inquiries related to him as politically motivated.