Category: Trump Administration / Department of Justice — Former Political Appointee (Weaponization Working Group) Role: Former Senior Adviser and Counselor to Ed Martin at the DOJ Weaponization Working Group (approximately mid-2025–February 2026); pardoned January 6 defendant whose federal misdemeanor trial was ongoing at the time of the January 2025 Trump pardon; former FBI Supervisory Special Agent (2004–2017). Priority: P1 — Trial-record evidence, including police body-camera footage, shows Wise shouting “Kill ’em!” as rioters attacked Capitol officers on January 6, 2021, and berating officers as “Nazi” and “Gestapo.” After his pardon, he was hired into a DOJ office whose stated mission is to review the very prosecutions of Trump and his allies — including his own — as instances of “weaponization.”

Overview

Jared Lane Wise was employed by the Federal Bureau of Investigation as a Supervisory Special Agent from 2004 through 2017. On January 6, 2021, he was present at the U.S. Capitol during the attack, entered the building through the Senate wing door, and remained inside for approximately nine minutes. Police body-worn-camera footage — introduced by federal prosecutors at his trial and later obtained and independently verified by NPR — captured him shouting “Kill ’em!” as rioters assaulted Capitol officers, and berating officers with statements including “Shame on you! I’m former law enforcement. You’re disgusting. You are the Nazi. You are the Gestapo.” Wise was arrested in Oregon in May 2023 and charged with federal misdemeanors related to the Capitol attack. His trial was in progress when President Trump issued sweeping January 6 pardons on January 20, 2025. Trump’s pardon ended the prosecution. Wise was later hired as a Senior Adviser and Counselor to Ed Martin, then-Director of the DOJ Weaponization Working Group. He left the federal government in or around February 2026 after Martin’s departure from the Working Group.

Background

Wise served as an FBI Supervisory Special Agent from 2004 through 2017. He was arrested in Oregon in May 2023 on misdemeanor charges arising from the January 6 attack. Prior to his DOJ hiring, he was in the middle of a federal criminal trial in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia when President Trump issued the sweeping January 6 pardons in January 2025.

Documented Actions

1. January 6, 2021 Conduct at the U.S. Capitol as Documented in Federal Trial Evidence

Evidence: Federal prosecutors introduced police body-worn-camera footage showing Wise shouting “Kill ’em!” as rioters attacked officers outside the Capitol on January 6, 2021. NPR obtained and independently reviewed the police body-cam footage from multiple angles. In additional footage, Wise berated officers with the statements: “Shame on you! I’m former law enforcement. You’re disgusting. You are the Nazi. You are the Gestapo.” An FBI agent’s affidavit and trial exhibits confirm Wise entered the Capitol through the Senate wing door and remained inside for approximately nine minutes.

Court record: United States v. Jared Lane Wise, No. 1:23-mj-XXX (D.D.C.), federal misdemeanor prosecution; trial in progress at time of January 2025 pardon. Federal charging documents (May 2023 arrest affidavit) filed publicly.

Source: NPR, “Video shows Department of Justice official urging Jan. 6 rioters to ‘kill’ cops,” August 7, 2025; ABC News, “Former FBI agent pardoned by Trump for Jan. 6 charges now serving in Justice Department,” 2025; CBS News, “Justice Department employee who was prosecuted over Jan. 6 Capitol attack says he resigned,” 2026; The New Republic, “Justice Department Hires Infamous January 6 Rioter to Take Revenge,” 2025.

Pattern: Trial-record documented incitement of violence against police officers.

2. Presidential Pardon Ending Federal Prosecution (January 20, 2025)

Evidence: Wise was on trial in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia when President Trump issued Executive Grant of Clemency covering nearly all of the more than 1,500 defendants charged in connection with the Capitol attack. The pardon ended Wise’s prosecution before any verdict; he was not convicted of any crimes related to January 6.

Source: Wikipedia, “Pardon of January 6 United States Capitol attack defendants,” retrieved July 2026; ABC News; NPR.

Pattern: Executive pardons ending in-progress federal prosecutions of Capitol-attack defendants.

3. DOJ Appointment as Senior Adviser to the Weaponization Working Group (Approximately Mid-2025)

Evidence: Following the pardon, Wise was hired as Senior Adviser in the Office of the Deputy Attorney General and as a Counselor to Ed Martin, Director of the DOJ Weaponization Working Group. In that role he worked on internal DOJ reviews of alleged “weaponization” of law enforcement — i.e., the very category of investigations and prosecutions that included his own case. Democracy Now! (July 3, 2025), ABC News, NPR, and The New Republic all reported and independently confirmed his appointment.

Source: ABC News; NPR; Democracy Now!, “Pardoned Jan. 6 Rioter Who Threatened Cops Takes Job at DOJ ‘Weaponization’ Office,” July 3, 2025; SAN, “Pardoned Jan. 6 rioter now helps lead DOJ’s weaponization probe.”

Pattern: Structural conflict — placement of a J6-pardoned defendant in the DOJ office reviewing J6 prosecutions.

4. Departure from Government (Approximately February 2026)

Evidence: Ed Martin left the Weaponization Working Group in February 2026 after his permanent U.S. Attorney nomination was rejected by Republican senators due to his advocacy for January 6 defendants. Shortly thereafter, Wise also left the federal government. CBS News reports Wise stated publicly that he had resigned.

Source: CBS News, “Justice Department employee who was prosecuted over Jan. 6 Capitol attack says he resigned,” 2026; ABC News.

Pattern: Political-appointee turnover in the Weaponization Working Group.

Pattern Analysis

Cross-References

Wise is a paradigmatic case of the pardon-and-hire pipeline documented in the second Trump administration: a defendant with trial-record evidence of shouting “Kill ’em!” at police officers was, within roughly six months of the pardon that ended his own prosecution, hired into the DOJ office responsible for reviewing that very category of prosecutions.

Related profiles:

• ed-martin-profile (Wise’s direct principal at the Weaponization Working Group)
• todd-blanche-profile (Deputy AG, then Acting AG, overseeing the office Wise joined)
• pam-bondi-profile (AG who established the Weaponization Working Group)
• colin-mcdonald-profile (co-director of the Weaponization Working Group)

Severity Assessment

Immediate harm: Moderate — no additional direct violent conduct in office; principal harm is the reputational and morale damage to federal law enforcement. Democratic erosion: High — placement of a J6 defendant into DOJ review of J6 prosecutions destroys any appearance of impartial internal review of politically charged prosecutorial decisions. Authoritarian marker: Rewarding trial-record incitement against police officers with federal advisory office; institutionalized retribution against prosecutors and investigators of J6 defendants.

Accountability Status

Current status: Former Senior Adviser at DOJ (departed approximately February 2026). No known active professional or federal role as of publication.

Legal exposure:

• Federal criminal exposure for January 6 conduct is extinguished by the Trump pardon (except potentially for perjury or false statements not covered by the pardon).
• State-level exposure — none identified.
• Bar-discipline exposure — none identified (Wise is not an attorney of record).
• Civil liability — potential Bivens-style civil rights claims by officers assaulted on January 6 remain theoretically available.

Congressional oversight:

• House Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime — jurisdiction over J6 pardons and DOJ hiring of pardoned defendants.
• Senate Judiciary — DOJ hiring practices oversight.
• House and Senate Homeland Security — Capitol Police protection and morale.

Public accountability:

• Investigative journalism (NPR, ABC News, CBS News, Democracy Now!, The New Republic) documented and continues to reference his DOJ role.
• U.S. Capitol Police union and officer advocacy groups have publicly protested.
• House Judiciary Committee Democrats “Where Are They Now” tracking project maintaining a public record.

Truth and Reconciliation Considerations

Investigation priorities

1. Obtain a full accounting of the DOJ Weaponization Working Group reviews Wise participated in — including cases where the defendant’s conduct paralleled his own.
2. Identify who at DOJ or the White House Counsel’s Office approved his hiring given the trial-record evidence.
3. Reconstruct all official communications between Wise and Ed Martin regarding January 6 prosecution reviews.
4. Document any interactions Wise had with Capitol Police officers, DOJ line prosecutors, or FBI agents involved in his own case during his DOJ tenure.