A former FBI agent accused of egging on rioters to attack police during the Jan. 6, 2021 riot at the U.S. Capitol is now serving in the Justice Department as part of the so-called “Weaponization Working Group,” sources familiar with the appointment confirmed to ABC News.
Jared Wise was on trial when he was pardoned as part of President Donald Trump’s sweeping series of pardons and commutations for nearly all of the more than 1,500 individuals charged in connection with the Capitol attack.
According to sources, Wise is now serving in the department as an investigator and counselor to Ed Martin, the former interim D.C. U.S. Attorney, whose permanent nomination to the post was rejected by Republican senators concerned over his past vocal advocacy for Jan. 6 rioters and other controversial actions he took in Trump’s first four months in office.
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The New York Times first reported Wise’s appointment at the DOJ.
Wise was charged in May 2023 and later indicted, with prosecutors pointing to videos showing him yelling “Kill ’em!” repeatedly as rioters attacked police outside of the Capitol building. He also allegedly entered the building for roughly nine minutes and then continued shouting at police.
“You guys are disgusting,” Wise allegedly said in body camera footage recorded by law enforcement. “I’m former law enforcement. You’re disgusting. You are the Nazi. You are the Gestapo. You can’t see it. . . . Shame on you! Shame on you! Shame on you!”
A Justice Department spokesperson declined to comment when asked about Wise’s appointment. Martin also did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
