FBI agents working cases related to the January 6 insurrection are asking federal judges to protect them from retaliation from Donald Trump.
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Two groups of FBI agents on Tuesday sued to prevent the Department of Justice (DOJ) from retaliating against those who participated in the prosecution of January 6 insurrectionists.
Specifically, they are concerned that Donald Trump will direct DOJ to seek retribution against agents who investigated or arrested any of the more than 1,500 supporters of his who were convicted for their parts in storming the Capitol on his behalf.
“Upon returning to the Presidency, Mr. Trump has ordered the DOJ to conduct a review and purge of FBI personnel involved in these investigations and prosecutions,” one of the lawsuits said. “This directive is unlawful and retaliatory, and violates [federal law].”
Trump’s DOJ has already gotten rid of the attorneys who prosecuted these cases, an action which the lawsuit says was illegal.
The plaintiffs are worried that they will be next.
Earlier this week, the FBI asked agents to fill out a survey, which is included as an appendix in one of the lawsuits, answering whether and in which capacity they participated in the January 6 cases.
“[The agents] assert that the purpose for this list is to identify agents to be terminated or to suffer other adverse employment action,” the lawsuit states. “[They] reasonably fear that all or parts of this list might be published by allies of President Trump, thus placing themselves and their families in immediate danger of retribution by the now pardoned and at-large Jan. 6 convicted felons.”
For the same reason, the plaintiffs brought the lawsuits anonymously.
The first lawsuit also states that the FBI agents “have been informed that some of their personal information has already been posted by Jan. 6 convicted felons on ‘dark websites’ (aka the ‘dark web’), and are particularly concerned about further publication of their personal information.”
Finally, after referencing Elon Musk’s anti-government crusaders and their potentially illegal actions, the FBI agents note that they “legitimately fear that the information being compiled will be accessed by persons who are not authorized to have access to it, and who lack the requisite security clearances to handle such information.”
The second lawsuit notes that violent threats against the FBI and the agents who carried out lawful orders related to the January 6 cases or investigations of Trump “have been a consistent problem for the FBI for years” and culminated in the death of a man who attempted to attack the bureau’s Cincinnati office.
That lawsuit also includes a social media post from Enrique Tarrio, a leader of the far-right Proud Boys, who mentions an FBI agent by name and says they should be “brought to justice and made to answer for [their] crimes.
“To ALL J6ers I encourage you to tell your stories and name those who committed these heinous acts,” the post adds. “They tried to take OUR lives for political gain and we cannot let things stand.”
Tarrio was sentenced to 22 years in prison for seditious conspiracy in 2023. Trump commuted his sentence on the day of his inauguration.
