Two Jan. 6 Prosecutors Placed on Leave After Memo

The Justice Department placed two D.C. prosecutors, Carlos Valdivia and Samuel White, on administrative leave hours after they filed a sentencing memorandum in the case of Taylor Taranto that described the Jan. 6, 2021 attack as carried out by “thousands of people comprising a mob of rioters” and sought a 27‑month sentence. The memo noted Taranto had been pardoned for Jan. 6–related charges but was later convicted on separate firearms and hoax‑threat counts after a June 2023 arrest near former President Barack Obama’s Washington, D.C., residence and other threatening conduct. The prosecutors said they were locked out of government devices and learned of the leave shortly after filing; a revised, shorter sentencing memo later appeared on the docket omitting references to Jan. 6 and a Trump social‑media post and listing different prosecutors. U.S. Attorney for D.C. Jeanine Pirro was identified on the revised filing. The DOJ declined to comment on personnel decisions while saying it takes threats of violence seriously, and officials have not specified which portions of the original memo prompted the suspensions. The action is being viewed amid broader personnel changes and allegations of retribution against Jan. 6 prosecutors.