Sources claim Matthew Graves, the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia, has resigned. Graves, who Joe Biden appointed in November 2021, is responsible for prosecuting hundreds of January 6 Capitol riot defendants.
Graves had refused to pause prosecutions against January 6 defendants ahead of President-elect Donald J. Trump’s inauguration on January 20. He also bragged about the scale of the Biden-Harris Department of Justice’s (DOJ) legal actions against the protesters in May, declaring, “More than 1,424 individuals have been charged in nearly all 50 states for crimes related to the breach of the U.S. Capitol.” The federal prosecutor also indicated that investigations into the Capitol incident were ongoing, with plans to possibly increase the number of defendants to over 2,000 before the statute of limitations runs out.
Graves is known for his aggressive approach, targeting not only those who entered the Capitol but also individuals who were merely in the vicinity on January 6. He threatened that “thousands” of protestors who remained outside the Capitol were liable for prosecution and that whether or not they would be charged was a matter of “prosecutorial discretion.”
However, the Supreme Court has ruled that prosecutors overstepped their authority in their zeal to convict January 6 protestors. For instance, charges of obstructing an official proceeding—intended to target white-collar criminals such as those who destroyed documents to thwart investigations into the Enron scandal—were used against many January 6 defendants because their protest delayed the certification of the 2020 election. Justices ruled this abused the relevant statute and threw the charges out.
Graves’s resignation may mark a significant turning point in the legal aftermath of the January 6 Capitol breach. President-elect Donald J. Trump has indicated he intends to pardon many protestors once he takes office.
DC U.S. Attorney Matthew Graves is making clear that the DOJ is now going to target Americans who were around the Capitol on J6 but did not enter the building pic.twitter.com/bj4i3QfHe9
— ALX
(@alx) January 6, 2024
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