Justice Department news releases detailing guilty pleas, jury verdicts, and prison sentences tied to the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol were removed from government websites. The deletions included information about defendants who assaulted police officers, including cases involving electroshock devices, neck assaults, metal flagpoles, and attempts to remove a gas mask. The Justice Department defended the removals on social media, claiming it was reversing prior “weaponization” and removing “partisan propaganda.” NPR reported that the deleted material included some of the most serious law enforcement assaults from that day and said it maintains a comprehensive database and visual archive of Jan. 6 prosecutions. Examples of removed cases included Daniel Rodriguez, Albuquerque Head, Thomas Webster, Christopher Alberts, and Peter Schwartz.
"Justice Department news releases that detailed guilty pleas, jury verdicts and prison sentences abruptly disappeared from government websites last week. The removals mark the latest phase of Trump's effort to rewrite the history of the violent riot. A review by NPR found that the deleted material included information about some of the most serious assaults on law enforcement that occurred that day. NPR maintains the most complete database and visual archive of the Jan. 6 prosecutions."
"On social media, the Justice Department defended the move, saying, “We are proud to reverse the DOJ's weaponization under the Biden administration. We will do everything in our power to make whole those who were persecuted for political purposes. This includes stripping DOJ's website of partisan propaganda.” The removals included cases involving defendants who assaulted police officers during the Jan. 6 attack."
"The purged news releases covered cases including: Daniel Rodriguez, who pleaded guilty to driving an electroshock device into the neck of former Washington, D.C. Metropolitan Police Department Officer Michael Fanone, and was sentenced to more than 12 years in prison. Albuquerque Head, who pleaded guilty to assaulting police and grabbing Fanone by the neck and pulling him into the mob of rioters while yelling, “I've got one!” Head was sentenced to more than seven years in prison."
"Thomas Webster, who was convicted by a jury of assaulting law enforcement with a metal flagpole, tackling a police officer to the ground and trying to remove the officer's gas mask. Webster was sentenced to 10 years in prison. Christopher Alberts, who was convicted by a jury of assaulting police with a wooden pallet and carrying a loaded handgun on Capitol grounds. Alberts was sentenced to seven years in prison. Peter Schwartz, who was convicted by a jury of assaulting police officers with pepper spr"
#jan-6-prosecutions #justice-department #capitol-riot #law-enforcement-assaults #government-website-removals
Read at www.npr.org
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