Assault on Capitol Hill, two US prosecutors suspended
Federal prosecutors called the Capitol Hill attackers 'rioters' in an official document
Two US federal prosecutors have been suspended after referring to the Capol Hill attackers as 'rioters' in an official document, Reuters reports. The move comes in the context of Donald Trump's decision to pardon all those convicted or charged in the Capitol Hill assault on his first day in his second term.
During a hearing concerning Tyler Taranto - one of the participants in the attack on 6 January, later accused of going armed near Barack Obama's Washington residence in 2023 - prosecutors Samuel White and Carlos Valdivia had mentioned the man's presence on Capitol Hill, using the English term 'rioters'.
Shortly afterwards, the Executive Office of the United States Attorneys ordered their suspension, without giving any official explanation. This is the most recent episode in a series of disciplinary and legal actions against Justice Department officials who had worked on criminal or civil cases considered hostile to Trump and his supporters. More than 200 prosecutors, agents and other employees have been fired, some of them involved in investigations concerning the president or the assault on Congress.
