The Department of Justice has reportedly fired at least three career prosecutors who worked on cases against January 6 rioters.
The prosecutors included two supervisors who oversaw the sweeping DOJ case against the pro-Trump mob that stormed the Capitol in early 2021, as well as a third attorney, the Associated Press reports.
The attorneys were fired on Friday in a letter signed by Attorney General Pam Bondi informing them they were “removed from federal service effective immediately,” NBC News reports.
The Independent has contacted the Justice Department for comment.
The reported firings come after the administration axed about a dozen lower-level DOJ officials who worked on the January 6 cases, and pardoned more than 1,500 people convicted in Capitol riot cases, including violent offenders.
Separately, earlier this year, the administration removed more than a dozen prosecutors involved in prior criminal investigations into Donald Trump, including several who worked for Jack Smith, the special counsel bringing a now-dismissed election subversion case against the Republican.
“You played a significant role in prosecuting President Trump,” a letter to these officials, obtained by CNN, said.
The White House has also sought to penalize law firms tied to perceived opponents of the president, including Smith and prominent Democrats, attempting to strip their security clearances and punish federal contractors that did business with them.
On the campaign trail, Trump referred to the mob that stormed the Capitol to overturn the certification of his 2020 election loss, injuring about 150 police officers in a riot that ultimately led to at least seven deaths, as “hostages.”
The January 6 case was the largest in Justice Department history, netting over 1,500 convictions and requiring scores of federal attorneys, many of whom remain with the government.
Despite erasing this prosecution against mass disturbance from the books, since taking office, the Trump administration has sought a firm response to civil unrest targeting his policies, deploying federal agents, Marines, and the National Guard for a nearly unprecedented civil law enforcement role in response to Los Angeles protests against immigration raids.
