June 3, 2024

The Honorable Merrick Garland

Attorney General
U.S. Department of Justice
950 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, D.C. 20530-0001

Dear Attorney General Garland:

We are concerned about the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) aggressive prosecutions of

American citizens who were present at the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021. On multiple
occasions, we, along with our colleagues, have requested from the Department information for
our oversight about the nature of the arrests and the prosecutions of these citizens but have yet to
receive a sufficient response. Indeed, the Department has ignored most of these inquiries. As the
Chairmen of Subcommittees of the House Judiciary Committee, we renew these requests as part
of our oversight of the Department.

As a threshold matter, the Committee recognizes that, out of the 1,200 individuals the
Department has prosecuted in relation to the events at the Capitol on January 6, many of these
cases are meritorious and appropriate. However, we also know from reporting that individuals
caught in the Department’s January 6 sweep have committed no crime or have been
overcharged.1 The Department has provided some information on certain cases,2 but we have
many questions that remain unanswered related to what has been characterized as “the largest
criminal investigation in American history.”3 To facilitate our oversight, we request that the
Department provide a detailed and comprehensive breakdown—beyond what is publicly
available—of the name of the individuals prosecuted, whether they were charged with

1
Alexander Malin, 3 Years Later, Jan. 6 by the Numbers: More than 1,200 Charged, More than 460 Imprisoned for
Role in Capitol Attack, ABC News, (Jan. 5, 2024); Julie Kelly (@julie_kelly2), TWITTER (Sep. 1, 2023, 12:01
PM), https://X.COM/JULIE_KELLY2/STATUS/1697640887579250766?S=46&T=E0YZQL7UN9WXFVQKMS-
VWW; Alexander Sheppard (@NotAlexSheppard), TWITTER (Sep. 5, 2023, 4:07 PM),
https://X.COM/NOTALEXSHEPPARD/STATUS/1699152266681254126?S=67&T=3OH6IPWH_FLNG5GNKLN4
6W.
2
U.S. Dep’t of Justi., Capital Breach Cases (last updated Apr. 24, 2024), https://www.justice.gov/usao-dc/capitol-
breach-cases.
3
Alanna Durkin Richer & Michael Kunzelman, Hundreds of Convictions, but a Major Mystery is Still Unsolved 3
Years after the Jan. 6 Capital Riot, AP News, (Jan. 5, 2024).
The Honorable Merrick Garland
June 3, 2024
Page 2

committing violent or non-violent crimes, the specific charges against them, what offenses they
ultimately pleaded guilty to violating, and the sentencing requests and sentences received and
how they compare with non-January 6 defendants who pleaded guilty to the same criminal
offenses.

As you are aware, we have made multiple demands for information, including the
following:

• On May 13, 2021, Representatives Roy and Massie sent you a letter inquiring about the
nature of the criminal charges and investigations into January 6 defendants, asking a
series of detailed questions and requesting a briefing.4
• On July 15, 2021, Representatives Roy and Massie sent a follow-up letter requesting the
information in our May 2021 letter after not receiving a response from your office.5
• On October 21, 2021, Representative Roy asked if you would respond to the previously
sent letters in a House Judiciary Committee hearing. You did not respond to the question.6
• On November 4, 2021, Representatives Roy and Massie sent similar questions and asked
the Department to fulfill our request for a briefing.7
• On June 29, 2022, Representative Roy’s office contacted the Federal Bureau of
Investigation (FBI) requesting information on the FBI’s alleged involvement in a raid
conducted on the home of two TX-21 constituents who were present at the Capitol on
January 6, 2021, following an article that claimed that the FBI used a high level of force
and assets to execute its search warrant.8 Representative Roy’s office followed up on the
inquiry two months later.

To date, the Department has not sufficiently answered the request for information in any
of the letters that we have sent, nor have we received any briefing on the subject. This
information comes at a critical time as other reports surfaced about potential mistreatment of
defendants in federal custody, such as retaliation by detention officers, housing inmates in
unsanitary holding cells, providing poor food quality, and subjecting individuals to humiliating

4
Letter from Rep. Chip Roy, Member, H. Comm. on the Judiciary, & Rep. Member, H. Comm. on the Judiciary, to
Merrick Garland, Att’y Gen., U.S. Dep’t of Just. (May 13, 2020).
5
Letter from Rep. Chip Roy, Member, H. Comm. on the Judiciary, & Rep. Member, H. Comm. on the Judiciary, to
Merrick Garland, Att’y Gen., U.S. Dep’t of Just. (Jul. 15, 2021).
6
Justice Department Oversight Hearing: Hearing Before the H. Comm. on the Judiciary, 117th Cong. (Oct. 21,
2021).
7
Letter from Rep. Chip Roy, Member, H. Comm. on the Judiciary, & Rep. Member, H. Comm. on the Judiciary, to
Merrick Garland, Att’y Gen., U.S. Dep’t of Just. (Nov. 4, 2021).
8
Darlene McCormick Sanchez, FBI Raids Home of Retired Texas Couple Who Attended Jan. 6 Capitol Rally,
EPOCH TIMES, (Jun. 25, 2022).
The Honorable Merrick Garland
June 3, 2024
Page 3

punishments.9,10 In addition, other investigations have pointed to the FBI’s possible involvement
in facilitating the events of January 6.11

Accordingly, congressional oversight of these prosecutions is essential. We request a

briefing no later than June 17, 2024. This briefing should include information on the following:

1. The number of individuals charged in relation to January 6, and a description of the

nature of each charge (i.e., whether the charges were brought for violent or non-violent
crimes).
a. The number of individuals who have been convicted, the nature of the crimes for
which they were convicted, and the sentences or penalties such convictions
carried.
b. The number of individuals who have pled guilty, the nature of the crimes to which
they pled guilty, and the sentences or penalties the plea agreements carried.
c. A comparison of sentences and penalties for individuals who were convicted of,
or pled guilty to, crimes during January 6 to similar criminal convictions not
related to January 6 (such as the plea agreements reached in the cases involving
assaults on federal officers and destruction of federal property in the Portland riots
in the summer of 2020).

2. Whether existing DOJ procedures are being followed or have been altered, including the
prosecutorial discretion of Assistant United States Attorneys to try their cases as they see
fit.

3. Who has the authority in the DOJ to approve plea agreements?

4. Whether appropriate force, care, and treatment is being used to arrest and detain suspects.

5. On what grounds is DOJ opposing pretrial release for detained individuals?

6. How many search warrant operations has the DOJ and its component agencies, including
the FBI, conducted at the homes of January 6 defendants since January 2021?
a. What crimes were these individuals charged with?
b. What was the level of force used by the agencies to effectuate these
operations/arrests?

9
Jim Hoft, A National Disgrace: Photos Leaked of Horrific January 6 Prisoner Abuse – Tortured 5 months in
Isolation in a Closet Room wit Light on and a Bucket for a Toilet – Where are the ACLU, Amnesty International,
Human Rights Watch?, GATE. PUND., (Aug. 17, 2023, 7:45 AM).
10
/ Emily Zantow, GOP Lawmakers: D.C. jail mistreating ‘Caucasian’ prisoners, abusing Jan. 6 detainees, WASH.
TIMES (Dec. 16, 2021).
11
Miranda Devine, FBI lost count of how many paid informants were at Capitol on Jan. 6, and later performed
audit to figure out exact number: ex-official, N.Y. POST, (Sept. 19, 2023).
The Honorable Merrick Garland
June 3, 2024
Page 4

7. What measures are the BOP and DOJ taking in response to allegations of abuse and other
forms of mistreatment of January 6 defendants occurring in federal incarceration
facilities?

8. A detailed accounting of the FBI raids on any of our constituents, but in particular, Lora
DeWolfe and Darrel Kennemer, whose home was raided on June 22, 2022.

9. Detailed briefings regarding any cases where the judges departed from the
recommendations put forward by the DOJ.

10. Any other information appropriate for a full understanding and oversight by members of
Congress of the prosecutions, confinement, arrests, treatment, sentences, and status of
individuals targeted by the Department with regard to the events of January 6, 2021.

The House Committee on the Judiciary has jurisdiction over criminal law and federal law
enforcement pursuant to House Rule X.12 If you have any questions about these requests, please
contact Committee staff at (202) 225-6906.

Thank you for your prompt attention to this matter.

Sincerely,

Chip Roy Andy Biggs

Chairman Chairman
Subcommittee on the Constitution and Subcommittee on Crime and
Limited Government Federal Government Surveillance

Thomas Massie
Chairman
Subcommittee on the Administrative State,
Regulatory Reform, and Antitrust

Cc: The Honorable Mary Gay Scanlon, Ranking Member, Subcommittee on the Constitution
and Limited Government

The Honorable Sheila Jackson Lee, Ranking Member, Subcommittee on Crime and
Federal Government Surveillance

12
Rules of the U.S. House of Representatives, Rule X (2023).
The Honorable Merrick Garland
June 3, 2024
Page 5

The Honorable Lou Correa, Ranking Member, Subcommittee on the Administrative

State, Regulatory Reform, and Antitrust