Press Release
February 7, 2025
WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. District Court Judge Jia M. Cobb approved a consent order that blocks the Department of Justice from making public the names of FBI personnel involved in the lawful investigation and subsequent prosecution of January 6th rioters who assaulted law enforcement and vandalized the U.S. Capitol.
This past Tuesday, State Democracy Defenders Fund (SDDF) and a group of legal advocates, including executive chair Ambassador Norm Eisen and co-counsel Mark S. Zaid, Esq., filed for an emergency order to block the public release of the names of any Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) employees who many fear are poised to be fired. Credible reports indicate the FBI has been targeting Bureau employees who had any involvement in investigations related to President Trump, and that Trump’s allies in the DOJ are planning to publicly disseminate the names of those employees they plan to terminate.
The lawsuit argues that many of the hundreds of January 6th defendants – many of whom were convicted for violently attacking members of law enforcement – who are no longer incarcerated after receiving pardons from Donald Trump could use such a public list to enact revenge. Some have already publicly threatened retaliation through social media.
At issue is a list of FBI personnel who worked on those cases that the FBI prepared in response to a demand from the Acting Deputy Attorney General. The order prohibits that list or any variation of it from being publicized until the Court can address the merits of the lawsuit.
“It would be patently illegal, and clearly contrary to most accepted norms and practices, for the DOJ to intentionally take actions that would publicly reveal the names of dedicated and patriotic civil servants who did nothing other than enforce the rule of law,” said Mark S. Zaid, who has represented FBI employees for over three decades.
Today’s consent order comes on the heels of a court hearing Thursday, during which a DOJ attorney agreed with the Court’s statement that public disclosure of the FBI employees could cause irreparable harm to them and their families.
“Law enforcement officers, from local sheriffs to FBI agents, risk their own safety and well-being to keep Americans safe,” said Norm Eisen, executive chair of State Democracy Defenders Fund. “They step up to protect us everyday. Now is our chance to help protect them and we’re grateful today’s order does that. We will continue to be vigilant and aggressively pursue all legal avenues to ensure these public servants’ rights remain protected.”
Link to the ruling HERE.