US prosecutors suspended after calling January 6 a ‘mob of rioters’
Two U.S. Justice Department prosecutors were put on leave after they referred to Trump supporters who stormed the Capitol on January 6, 2021, as “a mob of rioters.” REUTERS
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Justice Department placed two prosecutors on administrative leave Wednesday after they described Trump supporters who stormed the Capitol on January 6, 2021, as “a mob of rioters” in a sentencing memo, according to four people familiar with the matter.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Samuel White and Carlos Valdivia were removed from their cases and temporarily blocked from accessing government devices, one day before their scheduled appearance in federal court for the sentencing of Taylor Taranto. Taranto was convicted on gun charges after driving to President Barack Obama’s Washington, D.C., neighborhood in June 2023, shortly after President Trump posted what he claimed was Obama’s address online.
Two other prosecutors, including a senior official in the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Washington, withdrew the initial memo Wednesday and issued a revised version that removed references to both the January 6 Capitol attack and Trump posting Obama’s address.
Taranto had previously faced charges for his involvement in the January 6, 2021, Capitol assault and was pardoned in January following President Trump’s return to the White House. He was among nearly 1,600 people pardoned but remained in custody for the 2023 gun-related offenses. Trump and his allies have downplayed the January 6 events, calling the prosecutions a “national injustice.”
White and Valdivia had recommended a 27-month sentence for Taranto in the original memo. The replacement memo retained the same sentencing recommendation. According to three people familiar with the matter, the two prosecutors were not given an official explanation for their removal, which was carried out by the Executive Office for United States Attorneys. A Justice Department spokesperson declined to comment, and Reuters could not immediately reach the two attorneys.
This move is the latest in a series of personnel changes affecting Justice Department employees involved in cases that have drawn criticism from Trump and his supporters. More than 200 prosecutors, agents, and other staff have been dismissed, some of whom were involved in cases against Trump or related to the Capitol attack.
Taranto was convicted of gun offenses after a June 28, 2023, hoax in which he falsely claimed he would drive a car bomb into the National Institute of Standards and Technology. The following day, after President Trump shared Obama’s purported address on social media, Taranto reposted it and live-streamed himself driving into the neighborhood. In the video, he claimed he was searching for “tunnels” to access private residences. He eventually entered a restricted area monitored by the U.S. Secret Service, stating, “Gotta get the shot, stop at nothing to get the shot.” Authorities later found two firearms, a stabilizing brace, and hundreds of rounds of ammunition in his vehicle.
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