Ranking Member Raskin Demands DOJ and DHS Produce Records Regarding Hiring of Jan. 6 Riot Participants

Washington, D.C. (January 13, 2026)—Today, Rep. Jamie Raskin, Ranking Member of the House Judiciary Committee, sent a letter to Attorney General Pam Bondi and Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem demanding records and information about the hiring of individuals connected to the January 6, 2021 attack on the Capitol and the use of face coverings by federal law enforcement officers to hide their identities. 

“We know that some participants in the January 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol have been rewarded with high-ranking positions in the Department of Justice (DOJ). However, it remains unclear how many more have been invited to join the ranks of this Administration, including among the masked Department of Homeland Security (DHS) agents and officers that have dragged, tackled, beaten, tased, shot, and killed citizens and non-citizens alike in communities around the country,” wrote Ranking Member Raskin. 

Earlier this month, Ranking Member Raskin and House Judiciary Committee Democrats released a report documenting the careers of individuals involved in the effort to overturn the 2020 presidential election who are now employed in senior roles within the DOJ and DHS. 

For example, Jared Wise, a former Supervisory Special Agent with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), stormed the Capitol on January 6. He threatened police and applauded violence against them, shouting: “Yeah, fuck them! Yeah, kill ‘em!” After President Trump issued a blanket pardon for January 6 rioters, Wise escaped accountability for two pending felony charges—civil disorder and assaulting, resisting, or impeding officers—plus four additional offenses, including unlawful entry. Today, Wise serves as senior adviser to the Deputy Attorney General, alongside fellow January 6 participant Ed Martin, now the U.S. Pardon Attorney and head of the DOJ Weaponization Working Group.

DHS appears to be actively courting pardoned January 6 participants. It has deployed white nationalist “dog whistles” in its recruitment campaign for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), seemingly targeting members of extremist militias—including the Proud Boys, Oath Keepers, and Three Percenters—involved in the insurrection. The campaign launched with a $50,000 sign-on bonus, elimination of college degree requirements, and relaxed vetting standards. 

Less than one year into Donald Trump’s second term, masked DHS agents and officers have terrorized communities, including more than 170 US citizens who have been detained. Unlike any other law enforcement agency or armed services branch, ICE officers conceal their identities by wearing masks and removing their names from uniforms. Last week, a masked ICE agent shot a mother of three at point-blank range as she attempted to drive away from him.

“Who is hiding behind these masks? How many of them were among the violent rioters who attacked the Capitol on January 6 and were convicted of their offenses? The American people deserve to know how many of these violent insurrectionists have been given guns and badges by this Administration,” wrote Ranking Member Raskin. 

Ranking Member Raskin is demanding that Bondi and Noem produce information on federal agents’ use of facial coverings to obscure their identities and provide information on all individuals employed by DOJ and DHS who have received or sought a presidential pardon from Donald Trump, or who have been charged or investigated in connection with the January 6, 2021 attack.

Click here to read the letter.