Judicial Watch announced Thursday that it filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Justice, seeking records related to accelerated January 6 prosecutions in the final months of the Biden administration.
The case, Judicial Watch v. U.S. Department of Justice (No. 1:25-cv-02161), was filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia after the Justice Department failed to respond to a November 2024 FOIA request.
The request sought communications from then-Attorney General Merrick Garland, Deputy Attorney General Lisa O. Monaco, Principal Deputy Associate Attorney General Benjamin C. Mizer, and Special Counsel Jack Smith regarding pardons for individuals convicted in federal court for crimes committed at the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021, as well as any directives to accelerate arrests or focus on specific offenses between January and November 2024.
Judicial Watch alleges the Justice Department sped up prosecutions in anticipation of President Trump’s campaign promise to issue pardons for January 6 defendants. Reports indicated that as of January 6, 2025, the department was considering charging up to 200 additional people, adding to the roughly 1,583 individuals already facing federal charges. Federal authorities continued making arrests in the days leading up to Trump’s inauguration and pursued significant sentences for those accused of breaching the Capitol.
Read the Judicial Watch Press Release
