A federal grand jury indicted Jared Loughner on Wednesday in what prosecutors said is just the beginning of federal legal action against him, the Associated Press reported.
Loughner, 22, is accused of opening fire Jan. 8 at an event hosted by Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.) in Tucson. Giffords was critically injured and six people were killed. Twelve others were hurt.
The indictment accuses Loughner of attempting to assassinate Giffords and trying to kill two of her aides, but it does not include two murder charges from an earlier criminal complaint. Those charges stemmed from the deaths of another Giffords aide and a federal judge.
U.S. Attorney for Arizona Dennis Burke indicated that more indictments are forthcoming. State charges are also pending.
Loughner’s attorneys, Judy Clarke and Mark Fleming, did not immediately return requests from the AP for comment Wednesday evening.
Giffords is recovering from a gunshot wound to the head, and her condition was upgraded to serious from critical over the weekend. Her office announced Wednesday that she is expected to be moved from University Medical Center in Tucson to Memorial Hermann’s Institute for Rehabilitation and Research in Houston on Friday to begin the rehabilitation phase of her recovery.
The Arizona Democrat was able to stand Wednesday, KVOA in Tucson reported. Dr. Peter Rhee of UMC told KVOA that she has already started “aggressive rehab.”
All other patients that were treated at UMC have been discharged, the hospital announced Wednesday.
Colleagues in the House preserved Giffords’ seats on the Armed Services and Science, Space and Technology committees this week. She was not, however, included in the roster for the Foreign Affairs Committee, of which she was a member in the 111th Congress.
Lois Lerner, director of exempt organizations for the IRS, arrives for a House Oversight and Government Reform Committee hearing on the investigation of the IRS' targeting of political groups. Lerner invoked her Fifth Amendment right to not testify and caused a protest from some committee members when she offered an opening statement and engaged in dialogue with members before invoking the right.
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