Summarize this content to 2000 words in 6 paragraphs A section of the Department of Justice’s website that featured a database of those convicted in connection with the January 6, 2021 attack on the Capitol has been taken offline since President Donald Trump returned to office.Newsweek has contacted the White House and the DOJ for comment via email.Why It MattersOne of Trump’s first actions in his second term was to pardon around 1,500 people convicted over the January 2021 riot, whom the president referred to as “hostages.” The Trump administration now appears to be seeking to limit public access to information about the attack by removing the database.
File photo: Donald Trump supporters clash with police and security forces as people try to storm the Capitol on January 6, 2021 in Washington, D.C.
File photo: Donald Trump supporters clash with police and security forces as people try to storm the Capitol on January 6, 2021 in Washington, D.C.
Brent Stirton/Getty Images
What To KnowDuring the Biden administration, the DOJ maintained a searchable database of all individuals prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia in relation to the January 6 riot.The database featured the names of more than 1,500 individuals who had been charged and sentenced in connection with the breach of the U.S. Capitol in January 2021.The section of the website where the database was hosted has now been removed and replaced with a “page not found” message.According to the Internet Archive’s Wayback Machine, the database was still available online as January 24.An FBI page that listed individuals still wanted in connection with the Capitol riot has also been removed.DOJ press releases documenting the arrests, sentencings, and guilty pleas of January 6 defendants are still available online.On his first day back in office, Trump issued “full, complete and unconditional” presidential pardons for around 1,500 people convicted in connection with the January 6 attack on the Capitol, including those convicted of assaulting police officers.The president also directed Attorney General-designate Pam Bondi to dismiss all pending federal indictments related to the January 6 attack, as well as hundreds of ongoing prosecutions.Elsewhere, a section of the White House website that explained the U.S. Constitution was taken down since Trump returned to office. A Spanish-language version of the White House website was also shut down by the Trump administration.White House Principal Deputy Press Secretary Harrison Fields told The Associated Press that the dead links are due to “tweaking” of the website as the Trump administration makes changes from how it was structured under the Biden administration.What People Are SayingBrandon Starke, who was pardoned by Trump over the January 6 attack, posted on X, formerly Twitter: “This is a huge victory for J6ers. This site was one of countless weapons of harassment used by the federal government to make life impossible for its targets from J6.”The site included every accusation and every charge leveled against people, including the ones they were not convicted of and were never substantiated in court, and it would appear as the top-ranking search result.”In other words, every time a potential employer, landlord, new social or business contact, etc., would search somebody targeted for J6 they would read a dossier on each person filled with FBI and DOJ accusations and narratives that were never proven, along with links to documents with even more damaging allegations.”Trump critic Mike Bates posted on X: “Trump’s Justice Department has deleted a database detailing Jan 6 crimes and convictions. In Orwell’s 1984, Winston Smith worked at the Ministry of Truth, rewriting historical records to fit the government’s propaganda. Winston would fit right in with Trump’s maladministration.”What Happens NextIt is unclear if the January 6 database will be restored during the current or a future administration.The Senate Judiciary Committee is scheduled to vote on Bondi’s nomination for attorney general on Wednesday morning.
