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They prosecuted the Capitol rioters. Now the rioters and the DOJ are after them

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USCAPITOLRIOTJAN6

Reuters Wires

The Capitol riot in January 2021 set off the largest criminal investigation in the Justice Department’s history. On his first day back in office, U.S. President Donald Trump granted clemency to every criminally charged January 6 rioter. Now, prosecutors who handled Capitol riot cases face a new threat. Reuters has learned that pardoned January 6 rioters have been advising Justice Department officials how to pursue — and perhaps prosecute — the very prosecutors who helped put them behind bars.Inside the Justice Department, a “Weaponization Working Group,” led by Ed Martin, a former defense lawyer for January 6 rioters, is drafting a previously undisclosed report that is re-examining the Capitol attack, according to four January 6 prosecutors and a review of government documents. When presented with Reuters’ findings, a department spokesperson confirmed the report is being drafted.Martin and other Justice Department officials have held talks individually with at least three people charged in the Capitol attack since Trump’s inauguration, the three pardoned defendants said. During those meetings, the former defendants urged officials to pursue charges against prosecutors, FBI agents and judges who presided over their cases. One ex-defendant drafted a sample indictment at the request of a Justice Department official.When asked about the weaponization group, a White House spokesperson said Trump had campaigned on a pledge to “restore integrity” to the Justice Department and is keeping that promise.Half a dozen January 6 prosecutors told Reuters they fear that the report and Martin’s investigators could allege widespread wrongdoing by Capitol riot prosecutors, creating a pretext for taking legal action against them or to justify government payouts to rioters. At least a dozen told Reuters they believe the retaliation campaign could undermine the independence of the U.S. justice system.Matthew Beckwith, who worked on Capitol riot cases, said he was fired by Martin in January. Five days later, rioters posted a list on X naming Beckwith and at least 88 other January 6 prosecutors, along with calls for them to be fired or jailed. One user replied with a photo of a noose, suggesting prosecutors should be hanged. The online venom unsettled Beckwith’s wife, who was five months pregnant with their first child at the time, he said. Some of the people threatening January 6 prosecutors claim the official account of the Capitol siege was fabricated. They are intent on rewriting it.One of them is Christopher Quaglin, a 40-year-old electrician from New Jersey who now lives in Florida. He told Reuters he filed an administrative claim with the Justice Department — a formal request for compensation — seeking $150 million for what he contends were violations of his civil rights. He’s also calling for reprisals against those who prosecuted him.Quaglin attacked police officers “over and over again” on January 6, prosecutors said in a court filing, requesting he remain detained before trial. As he forced his way through police lines, prosecutors alleged, he grabbed one officer by the neck and tackled him, seized a police shield, used it to strike other officers, and pepper-sprayed another in the face, shouting “traitors!” as he attacked.A judge convicted him of 12 felonies — including assaulting officers, robbery, obstruction and civil disorder — and two misdemeanors tied to violence and disorderly conduct. He was sentenced to 12 years in prison. He had pleaded not guilty and claimed prosecutors overstated his actions. Pardoned rioter Treniss Evans entered the Capitol through a broken window on January 6. He too has met Martin and other Justice Department officials, he said in an interview. He expressed confidence in Trump and said he believed “justified” action would be taken by the Justice Department in response to January 6. The Justice Department spokesperson said Martin “may have met him at some point but does not recall a formal meeting.” During the attack, Evans used a megaphone to beckon other rioters inside the Capitol and downed a shot of Fireball whiskey in a congressional conference room. “You’re damn right I took shots of Fireball,” Evans, 51, told Reuters. He said his only regrets were the brand of whiskey and a subpar rendition of the Star-Spangled Banner he performed during the riot. Evans pleaded guilty in 2022 to unlawfully entering the Capitol. He now argues that the rioters were victims of a “weaponized legal system.” He has founded Condemned USA, an advocacy group for January 6 defendants. While he acknowledges that some demonstrators “did things they know were wrong,” he still wants Justice Department officials who handled the cases prosecuted. “I want perp walks,” he said.

Pardoned January 6 rioters are advising Justice Department officials how to pursue — and perhaps prosecute — the very prosecutors who helped put them behind bars.

Pardoned January 6 rioters are advising Justice Department officials how to pursue — and perhaps prosecute — the very prosecutors who helped put them behind bars.

They prosecuted the Capitol rioters. Now the rioters and the DOJ are after them

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They prosecuted the Capitol rioters. Now the rioters and the DOJ are after them

Reuters

Published December 18, 2025 08:35 AM PHT

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