The FBI identified Beverly Hills resident Gina Bisignano in this image from a video posted on social media of rioters at the U.S. Capitol. (photo courtesy of the FBI/U.S. Department of Justice)

One year after thousands of rioters stormed the United States Capitol, lawmakers and law enforcement officials are working diligently to ensure the people involved in the Jan. 6 insurrection are brought to justice.

U.S. Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Burbank), who was in the U.S. Capitol when the insurrection occurred, said it was a day he will never forget. On the one-year anniversary, Schiff vowed to continue fighting to shed light on what happened and who was involved.

“In looking back on my experience on that day, to be on the House floor as the insurrectionists were breaking doors and trying to get in, I came to the realization that this attack was coming from within the United States not from external enemies,” Schiff said. “I’ve been in Congress so long that I can remember 9/11. This was a very different kind of attack and in the aftermath, I had hoped that we might come together as a country. I find on this solemn anniversary that we have moved backward, not forward, that our democracy is more at risk than ever. And, I think we need to wake up to the fact that things we never thought would happen in this country are happening. The danger of violence persists.”

Schiff, a member of the House Select Committee investigating the Jan. 6 insurrection, said the committee is gathering information and questioning individuals who were involved or may have knowledge about the insurrection. He said the committee will use all options available, including recommending criminal prosecution for those who refuse to cooperate. Schiff mentioned that the U.S. Justice Department has filed contempt of Congress charges against Steve Bannon, an advisor to former president Donald Trump, for refusing to testify, and has recommended contempt charges be filed against Trump chief of staff Mark Meadows.

“We started just a few months ago and have interviewed over 300 witnesses, we have obtained tens of thousands of documents and have learned a great deal [about] multiple lines of effort to overturn the election,” Schiff said. “We may refer others for criminal contempt if necessary. We are mostly getting voluntary cooperation, but apparently there are some who are heeding the demands of the former president and are refusing to do their legal duty. We will use whatever legal options we have for each witness, depending on their circumstances. We haven’t made a decision about bringing in the former president. When we do, we will use whatever means necessary to obtain the information that we require.”

Schiff said there has been no timeline established for the select committee to finish its investigation, but he said it would conclude before the end of this year.

Other local officials also weighed in on the insurrection on the one-year anniversary.

“I do think that the insurrection, the attack on the Capitol on Jan. 6, was a threat to our democracy. And, I do think in part, that it was incited by false claims of a fraudulent national election,” Beverly Hills Mayor Robert Wunderlich said. “I think one of the enormous strengths of the United States, since it was formed, was the stability and the strength of our democracy. And that’s always been associated with a peaceful transfer of power that we have [with] elections. There’s been zero evidence of substantial fraud. So attempts to continue to assert that there was, including inspiring or at least partially inspiring some people to that insurrection at the Capitol in my view, is a threat to democracy. Whether or not individual people are guilty of criminal activity, they’ll get investigated and it’ll be a process to determine whether or not the individual people are guilty of criminal activity. But those challenges to the peaceful transfer of power in the United States are something that we all should be concerned about, because it has been such a strength of our country since its founding.”

U.S. Justice Department authorities are concurrently prosecuting approximately 725 defendants from throughout the country who allegedly participated in the insurrection, including three Beverly Hills residents whose cases are currently moving through the justice system. Defendant Gina Bisignano, 53, has agreed to plead guilty to multiple charges and is awaiting sentencing. Two others, John Strand, 38, and Simone Gold, 56, have pleaded not guilty to multiple felony counts and their cases are pending.

Bisignano, who authorities said was recognizable in videos posted of the insurrection on social media, entered an agreement with federal prosecutors on July 28 to plead guilty to six charges, although the terms of the plea agreement were not unsealed until Dec. 21 due to the ongoing criminal case. She agreed to plead guilty to civil disorder, disorderly conduct, obstruction, entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds, causing property damage and engaging in illegal activities. One count of destruction of government property was dropped as part of the agreement with prosecutors.

Bisignano was taken into custody on Jan. 19 and charged after FBI agents allegedly saw her on videos at the Jan. 6 insurrection. Federal authorities released images from videos allegedly showing Bisignano standing on a ledge at the U.S. Capitol and inciting the crowd with a bullhorn as rioters breached windows in the building. A statement of facts filed with the federal criminal complaint alleged Bisignano said her name and stated personal information while being filmed in Washington D.C.

In the plea agreement, Bisignano acknowledged she was present during the insurrection. She also agreed to fully cooperate with federal authorities on further investigations involving the insurrection.

Bisignano remains on home detention and is next scheduled to appear in court for a status conference on March 4. A judge will decide whether or not to accept the plea agreement and sentence Bisignano at a later date, and is not bound by the agreement. Prosecutors are recommending a sentence of 41 to 51 months in prison and fines from $15,000 to $150,000. The defendant also agreed to pay $2,000 to the Department of Treasury related to property damage at the Capitol.

Gold and Strand are believed to have traveled together last January to Washington, D.C., to participate in pro-Trump rallies. Tips and video evidence submitted by the public to federal authorities allegedly show Gold and Strand inside the U.S Capitol during the insurrection.

Gold and Strand were arrested in Beverly Hills on Jan. 18 and face multiple charges separate from the case against Bisignano. Gold and Strand were named in a singular criminal complaint and each charged with obstruction of an official proceeding and aiding and abetting, entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds, disorderly conduct in a restricted building or grounds, disorderly conduct in the Capitol Building, and parading, demonstrating or picketing in the Capitol Building. They next court date for Gold and Strand is scheduled on Feb. 8. They remain free pending further court proceedings.

The 725 defendants who have been arrested and charged for alleged participation in the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol include 17 people from California. The only other defendants from the Los Angeles area are residents of the cities of Alhambra, Burbank and Industry, as well as one with an address in the northeast portion of L.A.