Trump Administration Removes DOJ News Releases on Jan. 6 Assault Cases, NPR Reports

The Trump administration has removed from the Department of Justice website news releases about criminal cases related to the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol, with the DOJ characterizing the records as “partisan propaganda.”

“Washington — The Department of Justice is acknowledging it has removed from its website news releases about criminal cases related to the Jan”

CBS News

NPR reported that a review found the deleted material included information about serious assaults on law enforcement that occurred that day, and that the purged news releases now lead to a “Page not found” message.

CBS News

The DOJ defended the deletions on social media, saying, “We are proud to reverse the DOJ's weaponization under the Biden administration.”

NPR said the removals included cases such as Daniel Rodriguez, who pleaded guilty to driving an electroshock device into the neck of former Washington, D.C., Metropolitan Police Department officer Michael Fanone, and was sentenced to more than 12 years in prison.

The deletions come as the Justice Department announced a $1.776 billion “anti-weaponization” fund meant to compensate people who allege they were unjustly investigated and prosecuted, and CBS News reported that Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said rioters convicted of violence will be eligible for payouts.

CBS News also said the purge was the latest step to revise the history of the assault on the Capitol, when hundreds of supporters of Republican President Donald Trump stormed the building to halt the congressional certification of his 2020 election loss to Democrat Joe Biden.

Fugues magazine

In its rapid response post, the DOJ wrote, “This includes stripping DOJ's website of partisan propaganda,” and NPR said Trump granted clemency to every Jan. 6 defendant, including full pardons for all the most violent rioters.

NPR further reported that the administration settled a wrongful death lawsuit brought by the estate of rioter Ashli Babbitt for nearly $5 million, while the White House created a website describing the rioters as “patriots” and blaming police for causing “chaos.”

NPR said the deleted releases covered cases including Albuquerque Head, who pleaded guilty to assaulting police and grabbing Fanone by the neck while yelling, “I've got one!” and was sentenced to more than seven years in prison.

NPR also reported that Thomas Webster was convicted by a jury of assaulting law enforcement with a metal flagpole and was sentenced to 10 years in prison, while Christopher Alberts was convicted by a jury of assaulting police with a wooden pallet and carrying a loaded handgun on Capitol grounds and was sentenced to seven years in prison.

Former Capitol Police Sgt. Federico Ruiz told NPR in a victim impact statement that “There is not a day that goes by that pain, discomfort, and/or a mental health issue do not flare up to remind me of that day.”

Brendan Ballou, a former federal prosecutor who worked on Jan. 6 cases, told NPR that the administration’s effort to flip the story of the riot is part of a broader effort to attack democratic institutions, saying, “It's clear there is an ongoing fight to rewrite the history of Jan. 6.”