Ahead of the five-year anniversary of the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol, Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee on Monday released two new reports examining the aftermath of the attack during the first year of President Donald Trump’s second term.
The reports document Trump’s sweeping decision to pardon nearly all Jan. 6 defendants, and the administration’s mass firing of Justice Department officials who prosecuted the participants during the Biden administration.
Rep. Jamie Raskin, the committee’s ranking member, accused the pardons of creating “a private militia of proven street fighters” that represent “a nightmare for American public safety.”
The report cites findings from the nonprofit watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) that found that at least 33 pardoned Jan. 6 defendants have since been charged, arrested, or convicted of new crimes.
Among them, Christopher Moynihan was later charged with threatening House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, and Edward Kelley is now serving a life sentence on unrelated charges. Moynihan pleaded not guilty and was released on bail.
“Far from being tough on crime, President Trump has let violent criminals out of prison, enabling them to commit new crimes,” the reports allege.
Of the roughly 1,583 defendants who prosecutors charged in connection with the attack, 608 faced charges for assaulting, resisting or interfering with law enforcement trying to protect the complex that day. Roughly 174 of those 608 were charged with using a deadly or dangerous weapon or otherwise causing serious injury to an officer, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
President Donald Trumps supporters gather outside the Capitol building, Jan. 6, 2021.
Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
The reports also examine how individuals tied to Jan. 6 and Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election have moved into positions of influence, including attorney Ed Martin, who supported Trump’s “Stop the Steal” movement and represented several defendants charged in the Jan. 6 attack.
In May, Martin failed to gain Senate confirmation as U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, but was subsequently named U.S. pardon attorney and tapped to lead the Justice Department’s Weaponization Working Group, which was launched by Attorney General Pam Bondi to review the actions of officials who investigated Trump at both the state and federal levels.
The report argues that placing Martin, who it calls a “fervent Jan. 6 apologist,” in charge of clemency amounts to “the complete institutional validation of political violence,” saying the administration does not simply forgive the crimes but “celebrates them and validates them for the future.”
A Justice Department spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment from ABC News.
At least 15 Justice Department prosecutors involved in the Jan. 6 investigations were fired after Trump returned to office, according to the committee. The reports say many struggled to find private-sector work afterward, with major law firms declining to hire them due to fear of retaliation, forcing some to return to public service as state and local prosecutors.
The committee report also examines the experiences of law enforcement officers who defended the Capitol, including former Capitol Police Sgt. Aquilino Gonell, who was injured during the attack and has undergone multiple surgeries. The reports note that a plaque honoring officers who defended the Capitol on Jan. 6 has not yet been displayed, despite a federal law requiring it.
According to the committee, the plaque remains in storage inside the Capitol.
ABC News’ Alexander Mallin contributed to this report.
