Justice Department removes data on Biden-era prosecutions of Jan. 6 rioters from website

The Department of Justice has removed information about Biden-era prosecutions of Jan. 6 rioters from its website, calling the details of criminal indictments and convictions “partisan propaganda.”

President Trump pardoned most people who were convicted on charges related to their participation in the storming of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, and commuted the sentences of 14 others.

The Justice Department is now wiping from its website the news releases that detailed those Jan. 6 cases prosecuted under the Biden administration.

A Washington Post reporter discovered the missing news releases and posted about it on X, accusing the Trump administration of “quietly deleting info about the Capitol attack from the DOJ website.”

The department’s rapid response account confirmed the information was being removed but said there was “nothing ‘quiet’ about it.”

“We are proud to reverse the DOJ’s weaponization under the Biden administration,” the department posted. “We will do everything in our power to make whole those who were persecuted for political purposes. This includes stripping DOJ’s website of partisan propaganda.”

Information removed from the website included news releases regarding seditious conspiracy cases against members of the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers. Members of the far-right extremist groups were convicted for plotting to disrupt Congress on Jan. 6, 2021, as lawmakers counted electoral votes certifying Mr. Biden as the winner of the 2020 presidential election.

The Trump Justice Department got a federal appeals court to vacate those seditious conspiracy convictions and subsequently dismissed the cases.

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The website purge comes after acting Attorney General Todd Blanche announced a $1.8 billion Anti-Weaponization Fund to compensate people who believe they were the targets of overzealous government prosecutions or surveillance.

Some Jan. 6 defendants have already announced plans to seek compensation from the fund.

Mr. Trump pushed for the fund as part of a settlement agreement with the Justice Department in his lawsuit over the IRS’ unauthorized leak of his tax returns.

Members of Congress have expressed outrage over the possibility of Jan. 6 rioters — some of whom assaulted police officers — receiving government payouts.

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Lindsey McPherson

lmcpherson@washingtontimes.com

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