Ahead of the fifth anniversary of the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol, Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee on Monday released two new reports examining the fallout from the attack during the first year of President Donald Trump’s second term.
The reports document Trump’s sweeping decision to pardon nearly all of the Jan. 6 defendants and the administration’s mass firing of Justice Department officials who prosecuted participants during the Biden administration.
Rep. Jamie Raskin, ranking member of the committee, accused the pardons of creating “a private militia of proven street fighters” who represent “a nightmare for American public safety.”
The report cites findings from the nonprofit watchdog group. Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) found that at least 33 defendants pardoned on January 6 have been charged, arrested or convicted of new crimes since then.
Among them, Christopher Moynihan was later charged with threatening House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, and Edward Kelley is now serving life in prison on unrelated charges. Moynihan pleaded not guilty and was released on bail.
“Far from being tough on crime, President Trump has let violent criminals out of prison, allowing them to commit new crimes,” the reports allege.
Of the approximately 1,583 defendants prosecutors charged in connection with the attack, 608 faced charges of assaulting, resisting or interfering with law enforcement who were attempting to protect the complex that day. About 174 of those 608 were charged with using a deadly or dangerous weapon or causing serious injury to an officer, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Supporters of President Donald Trump gather outside the Capitol building on January 6, 2021.
Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
The reports also examine how people linked to January 6 and Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election have assumed positions of influence, including attorney Ed Martin, who supported Trump’s “Stop the Steal” movement and represented several defendants in the January 6 attack.
In May, Martin failed to win Senate confirmation as U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, but was subsequently named U.S. pardon prosecutor and appointed to lead the Justice Department’s Weapons Task Force, which was launched by Attorney General Pam Bondi to review the actions of officials who investigated Trump at both the state and federal level.
The report argues that placing Martin, whom it calls a “fervent Jan. 6 apologist,” in charge of the pardon amounts to “the complete institutional validation of political violence,” saying the administration does not simply condone crimes but “celebrates and validates them for the future.”
A Justice Department spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment from ABC News.
At least 15 Justice Department prosecutors involved in the Jan. 6 investigations were fired after Trump returned to office, according to the committee. Reports say many had difficulty finding work in the private sector afterward, and major law firms refused to hire them for fear of retaliation, forcing some to return to public service as state and local prosecutors.
The committee’s report also examines the experiences of law enforcement officers who defended the Capitol, including former Capitol Police Sgt. Aquilino Gonell, who was injured during the attack and has undergone multiple surgeries. Reports indicate that a plaque honoring the officers who defended the Capitol on January 6 has not yet been displayed, despite a federal law requiring it.
According to the committee, the plaque remains stored inside the Capitol.
ABC News’ Alexander Mallin contributed to this report.
