Democrats call for firing of January 6 defendant who works at justice department

Jared Wise, in blue jacket, at the US capitol on 6 January 2021. Photograph: Department of Justice

A January 6 defendant who urged fellow rioters to kill police officers should be fired from his job at the justice department, three Senate Democrats wrote in a letter to the US attorney general, Pam Bondi, on Wednesday.

Earlier this year, the defendant, Jared Wise, was hired as a counselor to Ed Martin, a prominent January 6 defense lawyer who is leading a so-called weaponization working group inside the justice department that is targeting Trump’s political rivals. The scope of Wise’s role remains unclear.