The US Department of Justice has acknowledged the removal of news releases from its website concerning criminal cases related to the 6 January 2021 attack on the Capitol, characterising the information as 'partisan propaganda'. The purge affects documentation of charges, convictions and sentencings linked to the riot.
The move is the latest step by the Trump administration to reshape the narrative around the assault, during which hundreds of supporters of Donald Trump stormed the Capitol to block the certification of Joe Biden's 2020 election victory. On his first day back in office in January 2025, Trump pardoned or commuted sentences for all 1,500-plus defendants, including those convicted of assaulting police officers with weapons such as flagpoles and hockey sticks.
On Monday, the Justice Department announced a $1.776bn fund to compensate allies who claim they were unfairly prosecuted. Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche has not ruled out payments to rioters convicted of violence, drawing bipartisan criticism in Congress. Responding to a journalist's observation of the removals, the department's rapid response account said: 'We are proud to reverse the [Justice Department's] weaponisation under the Biden administration.'
The removed releases included records of seditious conspiracy cases against members of the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers. Last month, the department filed an unopposed motion to vacate those convictions, which a federal appeals court granted on Thursday. On Friday, the department moved to dismiss the cases entirely.
