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The Trump administration has mass-deleted information about prosecutions tied to the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol, including cases of defendants who assaulted police officers. The removals mark the latest phase of Trump's effort to rewrite the history of the violent riot.

Justice Department news releases that detailed guilty pleas, jury verdicts and prison sentences abruptly disappeared from government websites last week.

, saying, "We are proud to reverse the DOJ's weaponization under the Biden administration. We will do everything in our power to make whole those who were persecuted for political purposes. This includes stripping DOJ's website of partisan propaganda."

A review by NPR found that the deleted material included information about some of the most serious assaults on law enforcement that occurred that day. 

NPR maintains the most complete database and visual archive of the Jan. 6 prosecutions

The purged news releases covered cases including:

The previously-accessible news releases now lead to "Page not found" message.

The mass-deletion of government information about the riot, in which a mob of Trump supporters injured 140 police officers and threatened the lives of members of Congress and then-Vice President Mike Pence, follows a broader effort by the Trump administration to whitewash the attack.

Trump granted clemency to every Jan. 6 defendant, including full pardons for all the most violent rioters and the 

erasure of seditious conspiracy convictions

 for members of extremist groups. The Justice Department 

, who was seen on video urging the mob to "kill" police. The administration settled a wrongful death lawsuit brought by the estate of rioter Ashli Babbit, who was shot and killed while storming the Capitol, for nearly five million dollars. On the fifth anniversary of the riot, the White House created a website that distorts that day's events, describing the rioters as "patriots" and blaming police for causing "chaos". And just last week, the Administration announced a 

 indicating that even rioters who assaulted police may be eligible for payouts.

When speaking about the attack, Trump consistently describes his supporters as victims rather than perpetrators of violence.

"I pardoned people that were assaulted themselves. They were assaulted by our government," 

 "They didn't assault. They were assaulted."

Police officers who were violently assaulted on Jan. 6 have described suffering lifelong physical and psychological injuries.

"I have been sentenced to a lifetime of medical issues that include physical pain and mental and emotional distress," former Capitol Police Sgt. Federico Ruiz said in a 

victim impact statement filed in a Jan. 6 case

. "There is not a day that goes by that pain, discomfort, and/or a mental health issue do not flare up to remind me of that day."

Brendan Ballou, a former federal prosecutor who worked on Jan. 6 cases, told NPR in a recent interview that the administration's effort to flip the story of the riot is part of a broader effort to attack democratic institutions.

"It's clear there is an ongoing fight to rewrite the history of Jan. 6, because these people know if they can successfully get people to forget about Jan. 6 — or worse yet, condone it — then they will be able to convince people to accept any attack on democracy," said Ballou.

Ballou currently represents two police officers who defended the Capitol on Jan. 6, and are suing to prevent payouts from the "Anti-Weaponization Fund."

While the government continues to remove information on the attack, 

NPR's database and visual archive of the attack

 remains accessible. NPR's work has been used by prosecutors, defendants, 

The searchable database covers all of the nearly 1,600 criminal cases, including charges, convictions, and sentencing outcomes. The archive also includes a timeline of the day's events, also makes accessible hundreds of videos from police bodycams, Capitol surveillance footage, and other sources. NPR is currently taking legal action to obtain additional video evidence held by the government, which has not been previously disclosed.

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Tom Dreisbach

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The Trump Department of Justice purged government news releases with information about prosecutions of rioters who attacked the U.S. Capitol and assaulted law enforcement on Jan. 6, 2021.

Trump DOJ mass-deletes info on Jan. 6 riot cases, including violent assaults on cops

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