Jared L. Wise, an insurrectionist who participated in the violent riots at the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021, was appointed to a position at the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) as an advisor to the task force Trump created to gain retribution against his political enemies.
Wise was charged (pdf) with felonies for “civil disorder, assaulting, resisting, or impeding certain officers, illegally entering the U.S. Capitol and encouraging the mob of Trump loyalists to kill police officers.” A 7-page affidavit (pdf) stating the facts of his case states,
When violence against law enforcement began in front of WISE, including officers being knocked to the ground directly in front of him, WISE turned in the direction of the violence and shouted, “Yeah, fuck them! Yeah, kill ‘em!” A few seconds later, as assaults continued, he shouted in the direction of the rioters attacking the police line, “Kill ‘em! Kill ‘em! Kill ‘em!”
Wise was about to go to trial when convicted felon/President Trump issued a mass pardon to white collar criminals and nearly 1,600 violent January 6 rioters who stormed the Capitol on his behalf, including offenders who attacked and wounded members of the Capitol Police. Four Capitol Police officers who responded to the attack died by suicide in the days and weeks after the attack.
The selection of Wise for the job is remarkable, and should be frightening to all Americans. It means a person who advocated violence against police officers at the Capitol on January 6 is now responsible for the Justice Department’s official efforts on Trump’s behalf to exact revenge upon the government employees whose jobs were to hold the rioters accountable. Before Trump, the U.S. Department of Justice was independent from the Executive branch and walled off from political influence by the U.S. President. But Trump had the nonpartisan career employees at DOJ fired and had his attorney general, Pam Bondi, stock the agency with loyalists who, at Trump’s behest, are now weaponizing the agency to gain retribution against his perceived enemies — something that has never before occurred in the United States of America, and a hallmark of authoritarianism (pdf).
Wise is an advisor to Ed Martin, who directs the so-called “Weaponization Working Group” at DOJ, the mission of which is to gain retribution against government employees who helped investigate the January 6 riots and prosecute the riot’s most violent offenders. The working group is also tasked with going after those who participated in bringing the civil fraud case against Trump in New York filed by New York state Attorney General Letitia James, that resulted in Trump being convicted of 34 felony counts of business fraud. Attorney General Pam Bondi created the Weaponization Working Group as one of her first actions after being sworn in as AG.
Edward R. Martin, Jr. was a defense attorney for people accused of crimes during the January 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol. Trump nominated him to be the U.S. attorney in Washington, a Senate-confirmed position, but his nomination was rejected largely because he advocated for people charged in connection with the Capitol attack. Instead, Trump appointed him to his weaponization committee at the DOJ.
Trump pardoned his Brownshirts, now he’s installing them in the department that is supposed to uphold our nation’s laws and justice, it would be funny if it wasn’t so dangerous. How much more of this treason will our citizens take before the streets run red?