Prosecutors placed on leave hours after describing Jan. 6 attack as a ‘mob of rioters’

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Two federal prosecutors have been placed on administrative leave just hours after describing the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol as perpetrated by “thousands of people comprising a mob of rioters,” according to two people familiar with the move who were granted anonymity to discuss personnel matters.

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Assistant U.S. Attorneys Carlos Valdivia and Samuel White urged U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols to sentence Taranto to more than two years in prison for a hoax threat against the National Institute of Standards and Technology and for driving through former President Barack Obama’s neighborhood with a van full of firearms and ammunition.

In their 14-page memo, the prosecutors briefly note Taranto’s involvement on Jan. 6 and indicate that after the riot “Taranto returned to his home in the State of Washington, where he promoted conspiracy theories about the events of January 6, 2021.”

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