January 6 arrests in Illinois, cross-country, as dragnet in place

CHICAGO (WLS) -- Nearly three years since the Capitol riot, those suspected of participating are still being charged, including a suburban man arrested this week.

William Lewis, 57, of Burbank, Illinois, was arrested Thursday on felony charges he assaulted Capitol police by dousing officers with wasp spray, as well as charges he smashed Capitol building windows, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.

Court records recount one officer with DC's Metro Police who told FBI investigators that after Lewis sprayed him during the riot, he "experienced a burning sensation on his face and in his eyes."

READ MORE: IL man accused of spray cops with wasp spray in US Capitol riot

Court records recount one officer with DC's Metro Police who told FBI investigators that after Lewis sprayed him during the riot, he "experienced a burning sensation on his face and in his eyes."

Body-worn camera footage and other surveillance images captured Lewis at the Capitol that day, according to investigators.

Lewis has not appeared in court yet, and the I-Team's calls to Lewis' family were not returned. He is among more than 40 people in Illinois arrested in connection with the January 6th Capitol riot.

The U.S. Department of Justice's dragnet for suspects wanted in connection with the violence that day is ever-expanding, with new cases going to court every month and some rioters going to prison.

Lewis' arrest comes after a manhunt ended on Friday for Gregory Yetman, a 47-year-old suspect out of New Jersey wanted for multiple felony charges including assaulting Capitol police.

Yetman turned himself into Monroe Township Police on Friday morning without incident, after being on the lam for several days, and is expected to appear in court next week.

Nearly three years later, law enforcement experts say the FBI and Department of Justice's work to track down all January 6th suspects is proving to be vital.

"The number of felony charges surprises me a little bit," said former federal prosecutor and chief ABC 7 Legal Analyst Gil Soffer.

"I expected to see the vast majority of these cases being misdemeanor charges for unlawful entry on federal property, and charges like that," Soffer explained to the I-Team. "But there are hundreds of felony charges here, many of which involve violent conduct."

Soffer said the FBI still has a gallery of easily identifiable, accused criminals captured in internet videos and social media posts shared every day.

"It's highly unlikely that the government is going to lose interest in someone they have charged, or have made clear they want to charge and whose face they've posted online, and whose crimes they've described," Soffer said.

Soffer told the I-Team that even as some defendants see jail time, whether that produces a deterrent effect during the upcoming presidential election cycle remains to be seen.

One goal of federal criminal law enforcement is to deter future misconduct, but when deep-rooted political ideology is at play, Soffer said even the threat of punishment may do little to change behavior.

"We can't assume that they will all be deterred by this," Soffer said. "Certainly, that would be the wish and the goal of the federal government."