Justice Department abruptly fires 3 prosecutors involved in Jan. 6
criminal cases, AP sources say
[June 28, 2025]
By ALANNA DURKIN RICHER
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Justice Department on Friday fired at least three
prosecutors involved in U.S. Capitol riot criminal cases, the latest
moves by the Trump administration targeting attorneys connected to the
massive prosecution of the Jan. 6, 2021, attack, according to two people
familiar with the matter.
Those dismissed include two attorneys who worked as supervisors
overseeing the Jan. 6 prosecutions in the U.S. attorney’s office in
Washington as well as a line attorney who prosecuted cases stemming from
the Capitol attack, the people said. They spoke on the condition of
anonymity to discuss personnel matters.
A letter that was received by one of the prosecutors was signed by
Attorney General Pam Bondi. The letter did not provide a reason for
their removal, effective immediately, citing only “Article II of the
United States Constitution and the laws of the United States,” according
to a copy seen by The Associated Press.
A Justice Department spokesperson declined to comment Friday evening.
The terminations marked yet another escalation of norm-shattering moves
that have raised alarm over the Trump administration’s disregard for
civil service protections for career lawyers and the erosion of the
Justice Department’s independence from the White House. Top leaders at
the Justice Department have also fired employees who worked on the
prosecutions against Trump and demoted a slew of career supervisors in
what has been seen as an effort to purge the agency of lawyers seen as
insufficiently loyal.
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Attorney General Pam Bondi speaks to the media, Friday, June 27,
2025, in the briefing room of the White House in Washington. (AP
Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
Trump’s sweeping pardons of the Jan. 6 rioters have led to worries
about actions being taken against attorneys involved in the massive
prosecution of the more than 1,500 Trump supporters who stormed the
Capitol as lawmakers met to certify President Joe Biden’s election
victory. Trump pardoned or commuted the sentences of all of them on
his first day back in the White House, releasing from prison people
convicted of seditious conspiracy and violent assaults on police.
During his time as interim U.S. attorney in Washington, Ed Martin in
February demoted several prosecutors involved in the Jan. 6 cases,
including the attorney who served as chief of the Capitol Siege
Section. Others demoted include two lawyers who helped secure
seditious conspiracy convictions against Oath Keepers founder
Stewart Rhodes and former Proud Boys national chairman Enrique
Tarrio.
In January, then-acting Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove ordered
the firings of about two dozen prosecutors who had been hired for
temporary assignments to support the Jan. 6 cases, but were moved
into permanent roles after Trump’s presidential win in November.
Bove said he would not “tolerate subversive personnel actions by the
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