The Justice Department fired dozens of federal prosecutors who worked on cases stemming from the January 6, 2021, Capitol attack, according to a leaked memorandum.
The move, ordered by Interim US Attorney Ed Martin and Acting Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove, comes among the Trump administration's broader efforts to purge the government of opposition.
In the memo e-mailed Friday evening, Bove directed the prosecutors' termination, citing President Donald Trump's January 20, 2025, executive order, which characterized the casework on the January 6 investigations as a "grave national injustice."
"I will not tolerate subversive personnel actions," Bove continued. "Too much is at stake."
The terminations affect approximately 25 to 30 prosecutors, according to one former assistant US attorney who spoke anonymously to POLITICO. Some staffers were also reassigned to different offices. This purge follows Trump's sweeping pardons for January 6 defendants on his first day back in office and the Justice Department's immediate shutdown of pending riot-related cases.
The memo further suggests the Justice Department is investigating the Biden administration's handling of these hirings as part of Trump's broader effort to "end the weaponization of the federal government." Officials were instructed to preserve all records related to the prosecutors' employment due to the "ongoing inquiry."
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