The Justice Department continues to pursue defendants from the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the Capitol despite promises of leniency from incoming President Donald Trump, the Washington Examiner reported. Trump has pledged to end what he calls "political prosecutions" when he takes office.
Trump will take office in less than two months. Rather than halting their crusade against the people in and around the Capitol that day, President Joe Biden's Justice Department and FBI have doubled down on their pursuit.
Just this week, two Florida men were arrested and charged with several felonies. Their crime was using a Trump sign as a "battering ram" against police which garnered them the charge of assault of an officer with a deadly weapon.
A 56-year-old Virginia man was arrested and charged with two felonies after he allegedly pushed an officer while swearing at him. The agency shows no signs of slowing down despite Trump's pledge.
The writing is on the wall for the Justice Department and its vendetta against Jan. 6 protesters. Nevertheless, they continue to hunt down, arrest, and charge as many people as possible.
Attorney Bill Shiply, who has represented several Jan. 6 defendants, said that the administration is not about to let up. "They’re denying reality," Shiply said.
"They’re basically saying, ‘Well, it’s our toy for another seven weeks, so we’re going to keep playing with it,'" Shipley added. The attorney believes it's a waste of resources on their part.
"They’re tying up court resources for cases that are almost assuredly not going forward. And then the defendants have to retain counsel, and counsel has to get involved and put aside time and make appearances and arrangements and deal with the government and obtain discovery," Shipley said.
Trump has promised clemency to the more than 1,500 people who have already been charged for their conduct during the Jan. 6 demonstrations. The FBI still has many people on its wanted list who have yet to be prosecuted, and it looks like the agency has no intention of slowing down.
Among the many prosecutions from the Jan. 6 unrest is that of the president-elect. Special counsel Jack Smith pinned charges on Trump for allegedly attempting to overthrow the 2020 election and inciting the protest, NBC News reported.
However, Smith filed a motion last week to drop the charges based on the prohibition against prosecuting a sitting president. "That prohibition is categorical and does not turn on the gravity of the crimes charged, the strength of the Government’s proof, or the merits of the prosecution, which the Government stands fully behind," Smith said in the court filing.
"The Government’s position on the merits of the defendant’s prosecution has not changed. But the circumstances have," he added.
Smith, who will step down before Trump takes office, said the decision was between "two fundamental and compelling national interests." He was split between the Constitutional idea "that the President must not be unduly encumbered in fulfilling his weighty responsibilities" and "the Nation’s commitment" to the belief that "no man in this country is so high that he is above the law."
These prosecutions were political from the start. The Justice Department has not pursued other rioters with as much zeal as they have the Jan. 6 defendants, and Trump is right to take up their cause once he's sworn into office.
