In a nation grappling with its own history, the Justice Department has taken an unprecedented step... [insert relevant quote or statement]. The Department of Justice is acknowledging it has removed from its website news releases about criminal cases related to the Jan. 6, 2021, riot (https://apnews.com/projects/january-6-cases/), calling the information about the prosecutions ‘partisan propaganda.’
Trump, on his first day back in office in January 2025, pardoned, commuted the prison sentences or vowed to dismiss the cases of all of the 1,500-plus people charged with crimes during the Capitol assault, including those convicted of attacking officers with makeshift weapons such as flagpoles, a hockey stick, and crutch.
The purge of news releases documenting criminal charges, convictions, and sentencing is the latest step by the Trump administration to dramatically rewrite the history of the assault on the Capitol, when hundreds of supporters of Republican President Donald Trump stormed the building in an effort to halt the congressional certification of his 2020 election loss to Democrat Joe Biden.
On Monday, the Justice Department announced the creation of a $1.776 billion fund meant to compensate Trump allies who feel they were unjustly investigated and prosecuted. Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche has not ruled out that rioters convicted of violence will be eligible for payouts, prompting bipartisan anger in Congress.
A journalist on Friday observed that the Justice Department was quietly removing news releases on its website related to the attack, including about a Texas man who pleaded guilty to assault and faced separate state charges. The department responded through its ‘rapid response’ account that there was no silence about it.
‘We are proud to reverse the DOJ’s weaponization under the Biden administration,’ the post said. ‘This includes stripping DOJ’s website of partisan propaganda.’
Among the releases removed were seditious conspiracy cases against members of the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers, far-right extremist groups. The Justice Department, in an unopposed motion last month, asked a federal appeals court to vacate those seditious conspiracy convictions, which were granted Thursday. The department moved to dismiss the cases against the group members.
