The Trump administration mass-deleted information about prosecutions tied to the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol attack from Justice Department websites last week. News releases detailing guilty pleas, jury verdicts and prison sentences disappeared ahead of Memorial Day weekend.
Following his January 2025 return to office, Trump pardoned nearly every Jan. 6 defendant. He subsequently unveiled a White House webpage blaming Democrats for certifying a fraud-ridden election, marking the latest phase of his effort to rewrite the riot’s history.
Download the SAN app today to stay up-to-date with Unbiased. Straight Facts™.
Point phone camera here
Deleted releases covered cases including Daniel Rodriguez, sentenced to more than 12 years for attacking Capitol Police Officer Michael Fanone with an electroshock device, and Proud Boys leader Zach Rehl, sentenced to 15 years before Trump commuted his sentence.
After a journalist noted the deletions on X last week, the Justice Department publicly confirmed the removals, defending them as a reversal of Biden-era weaponization. NPR’s database and visual archive of nearly 1,600 prosecution cases remain accessible.
The $1.7 billion anti-weaponization fund faces at least two lawsuits from Capitol police officers and fired federal prosecutors. Former prosecutor Brendan Ballou warned the administration’s rewriting effort reflects a broader attack on democratic institutions.
Round out your reading
- Plea bargains keep America’s courts running. Guilt or innocence barely matters.
- Trump says the media isn’t covering one of his biggest accomplishments. We checked.
- Mike Lindell denied MyPillow was hacked. Its private data is now online.
- Red meat allergy rises with ticks as HHS targets Lyme disease, alpha-gal syndrome.
- We’re building a new Straight Arrow. Help us shape our future by taking our survey.
