Prosecutors placed on leave describing Jan. 6 attack as a ‘mob of rioters’

Rioters and Trump supporters are seen on the steps of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 6, 2021.

Two federal prosecutors were put on administrative leave just hours after they characterized the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol attack as carried out by “thousands of people comprising a mob of rioters,” according to two individuals familiar with the situation who requested anonymity to discuss personnel issues.

The precise account of the attack was included in a sentencing recommendation for Taylor Taranto, who was among those pardoned by President Donald Trump for his involvement in the riot. However, Taranto also faced charges for unrelated threats and firearms offenses, for which he is scheduled to be sentenced on Friday.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Carlos Valdivia and Samuel White recommended to U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols that Taranto receive a sentence of more than two years in prison for making a false threat against the National Institute of Standards and Technology and for driving through former President Barack Obama’s neighborhood with a van loaded with firearms and ammunition.

In their 14-page memorandum, the prosecutors briefly mention Taranto’s participation on January 6 and state that after the riot, “Taranto returned to his home in the State of Washington, where he promoted conspiracy theories about the events of January 6, 2021.”

A spokesperson for the Justice Department refused to comment. U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro, who heads the Washington, D.C., office handling Taranto's case, also chose not to comment on the personnel change.

"Although we don't comment on personnel matters, we want to emphasize that we take any violence or threats against law enforcement and government officials, past or present, very seriously," Pirro stated. "We are committed to pursuing justice vigorously against those who commit or threaten violence, regardless of the political affiliation of the offender or the target."

Valdivia and White mentioned that after Taranto returned to Washington, D.C., in June 2023, he issued livestreamed threats to detonate his van outside the National Institute of Standards and Technology.

"The following day, on June 29, 2023, then-former President Donald Trump shared what was believed to be the address of former President Barack Obama on a social media platform," the prosecutors noted.

"Taranto reposted the address on the same platform and subsequently began livestreaming from his van on his YouTube channel. Taranto broadcast as he drove through the Kalorama neighborhood in Washington, D.C., claiming he was looking for 'tunnels' that he thought would lead him to the private homes of certain prominent individuals, including former President Obama."

The memo also details an event that occurred in the same month when Taranto went to an elementary school in Maryland while looking for Democratic Rep. Jamie Raskin, a prominent opponent of Trump.

Taranto was one of many January 6 defendants who contended that Trump’s pardon extended to crimes not connected to the Capitol incident. While the Justice Department supported defendants in several instances, Taranto’s case was one where prosecutors argued the pardon was not applicable. Nichols, appointed by Trump, eventually concurred with this view.