Two federal prosecutors who framed the Jan. 6, 2021, protesters as “a mob of rioters” have been put on leave by the Department of Justice.
Prosecutors Carlos Valdivia and Samuel White, who are part of the U.S. Attorney’s office in Washington, D.C., were told Wednesday they were on leave, according to ABC. Although no official announcement was issued, The Washington Post, also citing sources it did not name, said they had been placed on leave.
ABC reported that both were locked out of their government devices and told that when the federal shutdown ends and their enforced furloughs are over, they will be placed on leave.
The prosecutors were told they were being placed on leave hours after filing a sentencing memorandum in the case of Taylor Taranto, a participant in the Jan. 6 protests who was pardoned for his role in those protests by President Donald Trump, but was convicted in May on charges related to a separate 2023 incident.
In a sentencing memorandum, Valdivia and White referenced the events of Jan. 6.
“On January 6, 2021, thousands of people comprising a mob of rioters attacked the U.S. Capitol while a joint session of Congress met to certify the results of the 2020 presidential election,” the memorandum said.
“Taranto was accused of participating in the riot in Washington, D.C., by entering the U.S. Capitol Building. After the riot, Taranto returned to his home in the State of Washington, where he promoted conspiracy theories about the events of January 6, 2021.”
The Justice Department did dot comment on the disciplinary action, according to Politico.
Was the prosecutors’ description of Jan. 6 out of line?
U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro issued a statement, saying, “While we don’t comment on personnel decisions, we want to make very clear that we take violence and threats of violence against law enforcement, current or former government officials extremely seriously.”
“We have and will continue to vigorously pursue justice against those who commit or threaten violence without regard to the political party of the offender or the target.”
“ABC News reporting that two prosecutors out of DC US Attorney’s office have been put on leave for their inflammatory misrepresentations about the events of Jan 6 in a sentencing memo for a J6er later convicted on 3 counts for a 2023 bomb hoax near the Obamas home in DC Katherine Faulders just posted that the prosecutors–Carlos Valdivia and Samuel White–had been furloughed due to shutdown but then informed they were put on leave. They were also locked out of the government devices. Good,” journalist Julie Kelly posted on X.
ABC News reporting that two prosecutors out of DC US Attorney’s office have been put on leave for their inflammatory misrepresentations about the events of Jan 6 in a sentencing memo for a J6er later convicted on 3 counts for a 2023 bomb hoax near the Obamas home in DC
Katherine… pic.twitter.com/GjZgTgOa0W
— Julie Kelly 🇺🇸 (@julie_kelly2) October 29, 2025
Taranto faces a Thursday sentencing before U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols, ABC reported.
According to a Department of Justice news release issued after Taranto was found guilty in May, he was convicted of illegally carrying two firearms without a license, unlawfully possessing ammunition, and false information and hoaxes.
The release said that on June 28, 2023, Taranto “broadcast a livestream of himself as he sat behind the wheel of his van. He stated that he had been ‘working on a detonator’ and indicated to his audience that he would drive a car bomb into the National Institute of Standards and Technology.”
“His target was a neutron reactor housed at the NIST campus. He then drove over the Wilson Bridge to Alexandria, Virginia, where he parked his van in the middle of the street and ran away from it, demonstrating to his audience how he would create the appearance of an emergency,” the release said.
Taranto was arrested the next day after issuing threats in Washington’s Kalorama neighborhood. At the time of his arrest, police found two firearms, multiple magazines, and hundreds of rounds of ammunition when Taranto’s car was searched.
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