Pardoned Jan. 6 Rioter Who Threatened Police Joins Justice Dept.

A former F.B.I. agent who was charged with encouraging the mob that stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, to kill police officers has been named as an adviser to the Justice Department task force that President Trump established to seek retribution against his political enemies. The former agent, Jared L. Wise, is serving as a counselor to Ed Martin, the director of the so-called Weaponization Working Group, according to people familiar with the group’s activities.

Mr. Martin, a longtime supporter of Jan. 6 defendants, was put in charge of the weaponization group in May after Mr. Trump withdrew his name for a Senate-confirmed position as the U.S. attorney in Washington. His nomination faltered in part because of the work he had done as an advocate and defense lawyer for people charged in connection with the Capitol attack.

Even in a Justice Department that has often been pressed into serving Mr. Trump’s political agenda, the appointment of Mr. Wise to the weaponization task force was a remarkable development. His selection meant that a man who had urged violence against police officers was now responsible for the department’s official effort to exact revenge against those who had tried to hold the rioters accountable.

It remains unclear exactly what role Mr. Wise will play as Mr. Martin’s adviser. But one person familiar with the working group’s activities said that Mr. Martin was proud to have Mr. Wise on his team, adding that there was no better person to serve on the weaponization task force than someone who had experienced the federal government being weaponized against him. If “we could genetically design an adviser” to Mr. Martin, the person said, he would look like Mr. Wise.

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/07/01/us/politics/justice-department-rioter-weaponization.html?unlocked_article_code=1.TU8.wfr0.w_E2C3mxil0g&smid=url-share