The Department of Justice has reportedly put at least two federal prosecutors on leave after they acknowledged that rioters attacked the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021.
ABC correspondents Katherine Faulders and Alex Mallin reported that the prosecutors were informed on Wednesday that they had been suspended following a legal brief which stated that “thousands of people comprising a mob of rioters” were involved in the Capitol attack.
This move comes amid a broader pattern of Trump interference in cases related to the January 6 insurrection. In June, Attorney General Pam Bondi fired three prosecutors who were handling Capitol riot cases. Dozens more were terminated just days after President Donald Trump took office.
The suspensions underscore the ongoing tension within the Department of Justice between career prosecutors and political appointees, raising questions about whether acknowledging the facts of the January 6 attack has become politically hazardous.
Observers say the decision to punish prosecutors for accurately describing the events of that day is unprecedented, pointing to an erosion of the independence traditionally afforded to federal prosecutors.
