Two federal prosecutors suspended after calling January 6 attackers ‘a mob of rioters’

The US Department of Justice has placed two federal prosecutors on administrative leave after they described participants in the January 6, 2021, Capitol attack as “a mob of rioters” in court filings.

Samuel White and Carlos Valdivia, both from the US Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia, were suspended on Wednesday, the same day their sentencing documents were abruptly edited to remove all references to the Capitol attack. They were also locked out of their government devices, according to sources cited by Reuters and the Associated Press.

The suspensions mark the latest example of President Donald Trump’s administration targeting federal prosecutors involved in cases tied to the storming of the Capitol. Trump has repeatedly defended the rioters, calling them “patriots” and, on his first day back in office, pardoned more than 1,500 individuals with pending charges or convictions. Fourteen others had their sentences commuted.

Trump called the prosecutions “a grave national injustice.”

The January 6 attack, fuelled by Trump’s false claims that the 2020 election was “rigged,” saw thousands of his supporters breach the US Capitol as lawmakers certified electoral votes. More than 100 police officers were injured, and several people died, including one officer who later suffered multiple strokes after being assaulted.

The two suspended prosecutors were preparing for Thursday’s sentencing of Taylor Taranto, a Navy veteran who joined the Capitol riot and was later pardoned by Trump for related misdemeanours.

Taranto was convicted in May on unrelated charges, including illegal firearm possession and spreading false information. He was arrested near former President Barack Obama’s Washington, DC, home in 2023, after livestreaming himself en route and claiming he was “going to get the shot.” Authorities found over 500 rounds of ammunition in his van.

Despite the prosecutors’ removal, US District Judge Carl Nichols praised their work during the hearing, saying they did “a commendable and excellent job” and displayed “the highest standards of professionalism.”

Nichols sentenced Taranto to 21 months in prison, time he has already served, meaning he will walk free.

The Justice Department has not commented on the suspensions.

The move follows a broader Trump administration purge of prosecutors connected to January 6 cases. In January, nearly two dozen staffers at the DC US Attorney’s Office were fired, and three more were dismissed in June, all reportedly linked to riot prosecutions launched under former President Joe Biden.