Trump Administration Fires Jan. 6 Prosecutors, Sparks Alarm Over DOJ Independence

The Justice Department has abruptly dismissed at least three prosecutors involved in the U.S. Capitol riot criminal cases, marking the latest significant moves by the Trump administration to target attorneys connected to the massive Jan. 6, 2021, attack prosecutions. Among those fired are two supervisory attorneys overseeing Jan. 6 cases within the U.S. attorney’s office in Washington, along with a line attorney prosecuting Capitol attack cases.

A dismissal letter received by one prosecutor, signed by Attorney General Pam Bondi, cited only “Article II of the United States Constitution and the laws of the United States” as the reason for immediate removal, without further explanation. The Justice Department has declined to comment on the personnel changes.

These terminations intensify concerns over the Trump administration’s perceived disregard for civil service protections for career lawyers and the erosion of the Justice Department’s independence from the White House. This follows a pattern of actions, including the firing of employees involved in prosecutions against Trump himself and the demotion of numerous career supervisors, interpreted by many as an effort to purge the agency of lawyers deemed insufficiently loyal.

The sweeping pardons issued by President Trump for Jan. 6 rioters, effective on his first day back in the White House, have fueled worries about retaliatory actions against attorneys handling the more than 1,500 prosecutions of individuals who stormed the Capitol. These pardons notably included individuals convicted of seditious conspiracy and violent assaults on police.

Earlier actions in this second term include interim U.S. Attorney Ed Martin’s demotion of several Jan. 6 prosecutors in February, including the chief of the Capitol Siege Section, and acting Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove’s order in January to fire about two dozen prosecutors who had been moved into permanent roles after Trump’s presidential victory in November. Bove reportedly stated he would not “toleratesubversive personnel actions by the previous administration.”

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