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https://www.nytimes.com/2025/10/29/us/politics/prosecutors-jan-6-trump.html
Two federal prosecutors in Washington were informed on Wednesday that they would be placed on leave after requesting a stiff sentence for a man granted clemency after participating in the Capitol attack on Jan. 6, 2021, who later turned up armed near the house of former President Barack Obama.
It was the latest act of retribution by the Trump administration against prosecutors in the U.S. attorney’s office in Washington who worked on cases related to Jan. 6, a campaign that has also included dismissals and demotions. The moves were earlier reported by ABC News.
The prosecutors, Carlos Valdivia and Samuel White, asked a federal judge on Tuesday to sentence the man granted clemency, Taylor Taranto, to 27 months in prison after he was found guilty at a bench trial of showing up near Mr. Obama’s house in Washington with two firearms and ammunition in June 2023.
In their sentencing papers, Mr. Valdivia and Mr. White wrote that Mr. Taranto had been among the “mob of rioters” on Jan. 6 and that he had promoted conspiracy theories concerning the attack. Mr. Taranto was charged with trespassing and disorderly conduct for his role in the Capitol attack, but those charges were dismissed as part of the blanket clemency that President Trump granted to all of the nearly 1,600 people accused of taking part in the riot.
In an extraordinary move, the Justice Department withdrew the sentencing papers on Wednesday afternoon, noting in a federal court database that they had been “entered in error.” Hours later, new sentencing papers were submitted that kept the same recommendation for a 27-month sentence but expunged all references to Jan. 6. The edited papers were filed by two new prosecutors appearing in the case, including Jonathan Hornok, the chief of the criminal division of the U.S. attorney’s office.
Two federal prosecutors in Washington were informed on Wednesday that they would be placed on leave after requesting a stiff sentence for a man granted clemency after participating in the Capitol attack on Jan. 6, 2021, who later turned up armed near the house of former President Barack Obama.
It was the latest act of retribution by the Trump administration against prosecutors in the U.S. attorney’s office in Washington who worked on cases related to Jan. 6, a campaign that has also included dismissals and demotions. The moves were earlier reported by ABC News.
The prosecutors, Carlos Valdivia and Samuel White, asked a federal judge on Tuesday to sentence the man granted clemency, Taylor Taranto, to 27 months in prison after he was found guilty at a bench trial of showing up near Mr. Obama’s house in Washington with two firearms and ammunition in June 2023.
In their sentencing papers, Mr. Valdivia and Mr. White wrote that Mr. Taranto had been among the “mob of rioters” on Jan. 6 and that he had promoted conspiracy theories concerning the attack. Mr. Taranto was charged with trespassing and disorderly conduct for his role in the Capitol attack, but those charges were dismissed as part of the blanket clemency that President Trump granted to all of the nearly 1,600 people accused of taking part in the riot.
In an extraordinary move, the Justice Department withdrew the sentencing papers on Wednesday afternoon, noting in a federal court database that they had been “entered in error.” Hours later, new sentencing papers were submitted that kept the same recommendation for a 27-month sentence but expunged all references to Jan. 6. The edited papers were filed by two new prosecutors appearing in the case, including Jonathan Hornok, the chief of the criminal division of the U.S. attorney’s office.
