US prosecutors 'suspended' hours after calling Trump-supporting January 6 attackers 'mob of rioters'
The lawyers have reportedly been locked out of their government devices and put on administrative leave
Two US prosecutors have reportedly been suspended just hours after referring to the Donald Trump supporters who stormed the Capitol on January 6 as "a mob of rioters".
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Attorneys Samuel White and Carlos Valdivia allegedly made the remarks in a sentencing memo for Taylor Taranto, who was convicted on gun charges after driving to former President Barack Obama’s Washington neighbourhood in June 2023.
Taranto was previously charged for his role in the 2021 insurrection on the Capitol - an attack which saw hundreds of rioters force their way into the Capitol building in Washington DC.
He was on of nearly 1,600 people invovled who Mr Trump pardoned in one of his first acts when he returned to the White House for a second term.
Taranto was still locked up due to his charges in 2023 and was due to face sentencing this week.
But prosecutors in the case have now reportedly been locked out of their government devices and put on administrative leave just one day before Taranto was due in court, according to Reuters.
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They were not given an official reason for their removal, sources told the publication.
It comes after a string of prosecutions against Mr Trump’s outspoken critics – including those in the Justice Department who have gone against Trump allies and pursued criminal cases against January 6 rioters.
Mr Trump and his supporters have branded the pursuit of such cases a "national injustice".
During his election campaign, Mr Trump promised to seek revenge against many of his perceived political enemies, including former President Joe Biden.
He has since also fired several prosecutors who worked for special counsel Jack Smith on two criminal probes against him, and has targeted public figures including late-night comedian Jimmy Kimmel for criticising him publicly.
The January 6 attack saw hundreds of rioters force their way into the Capitol building in Washington DC as US lawmakers sought to certify the 2020 presidential election result.
Rioters forced their way into the building, with lawmakers including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi fleeing for their lives.
The president has described attacks on police officers during the January 6 riots as “very minor incidents.”
At the start of his second term, he insisted the majority of those arrested for assaulting the Capitol in 2021 were "absolutely innocent".
Mr Trump used the first hours of his second term to sign a slew of executive orders, including a pardon for the more than 1,600 people convicted over the riots - including more than 200 who assaulted police officers.