‘Guerilla propaganda’: Trump’s Justice Department deletes website with press releases about defendants in Jan. 6 Capitol riots | Today’s news
The Justice Department confirmed it had pulled press releases from its website regarding criminal cases related to the January 6, 2021 riots at the Capitol, calling material about the prosecutions “partisan propaganda,” according to the AP.
The removal of pages detailing charges, convictions and sentencing results is another step by the Trump administration in rewriting the official story about the attack on the Capitol, when hundreds of supporters of Republican President Donald Trump stormed the building in an attempt to block the certification of Joe Biden’s 2020 election victory.
On his first day in office in January 2025, Trump pardoned, commuted or vowed to dismiss the cases of all of the more than 1,500 people accused of crimes during the Capitol attack, including those convicted of attacking officers with makeshift weapons such as poles, a hockey stick and crutches.
On Monday, the Justice Department announced the creation of a $1.776 billion fund to compensate Trump allies who believe they have been unfairly investigated and prosecuted.
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche did not rule out rioters convicted of violence being eligible for the payouts, drawing bipartisan ire in Congress.
After one journalist noted Friday on social media platform X that the Justice Department was “quietly” removing press releases related to the Jan. 6 attack from its website, including information about a Texas man who pleaded guilty to assault and also faced separate state charges of solicitation of a minor, the department responded via its “rapid response” account that there was “nothing ‘quiet'” about it.
“We are proud to reverse the weaponization of the Justice Department under the Biden administration. We will do everything in our power to make whole those who have been persecuted for political reasons,” the post said. “This includes ridding the DOJ website of partisan propaganda.”
Among the published reports removed from the site were those relating to seditious conspiracy cases against members of the far-right extremist groups Proud Boys and Oath Keepers.
In an unopposed motion last month, the Justice Department asked a federal appeals court to overturn those outrageous conspiracy convictions, a request that was granted Thursday.
On Friday, the ministry decided to dismiss the cases against the group’s members.
