A former Jan. 6 defendant who urged rioters attacking the police guarding the U.S. Capitol to “Kill ’em! Kill ’em!” … is now working for the Trump Justice Department. He has been hired in a senior role in a unit tasked with unwinding the alleged “weaponization” of government against conservatives. This is the finding of an detailed NPR investigation that relies on the man’s own testimony in court, as well as police body camera footage from the infamous day of unrest.
Jared Wise, a former FBI agent from Bend, Oregon, traveled to Washington, D.C., to support Donald Trump on Jan. 6, 2021. After Trump’s rally at the Ellipse, Wise, who is in his 50s, joined the crowd that stormed the U.S. Capitol, and, according to NPR and federal charging documents, briefly entered the Capitol building through a breached door, later exiting through a broken window.
Nearly two hours later, according to federal documents, Wise was still on the scene when he began verbally berating cops who were attempting to restore order. “You guys are disgusting,” Wise said, invoking his own experience in law enforcement. According to federal documents, Wise compared the cops to Hitler’s secret police: “You are the Nazi. You are the Gestapo,” he said, adding: “Shame on you!”
Wise then witnessed what the charging documents describe as “violence against law enforcement” that included “officers being knocked to the ground directly in front of him.” According to the documents Wise shouted at the rioters battling police: “Yeah, fuck them! Yeah, kill ‘em!” He added, chillingly, “Kill ‘em! Kill ‘em! Kill ‘em!”
In 2023, Wise was indicted on five serious counts in federal court, including civil disorder and “aiding and abetting” an assault on police. Wise reportedly pleaded not guilty. Testifying on his own behalf, Wise defended his violent rhetoric as “careless” admitting he’d used “terrible words when I was angry.” His lawyers argued that the government was attempting to “criminalize mere speech.”
Wise had nearly completed his trial in 2025, according to NPR, but had not received a verdict when Trump reclaimed the White House and issued a mass pardon for Jan. 6 defendants, as well as those convicted of crimes that day.
Wise’s participation in the events of Jan. 6 has not been an impediment in gaining employment with the Trump Department of Justice. In fact, it may have been an asset. According to NPR, Wise is now working as a “senior adviser” to a group tasked with unwinding a supposed “weaponization” of government under President Joe Biden against “perceived political opponents,” which allegedly included “unethical prosecutions” of Jan. 6 defendants.
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This position puts Wise under direction of Trump’s anti-weaponization czar, Ed Martin, who previously ran a non-profit that raised funds for myriad notorious and violent Jan. 6 criminals, as Rolling Stone reported in May. Martin, NPR reports, has since argued for “restitution” for Jan. 6 defendants, whom the government is obliged to “make whole.”
For its part, the Trump administration is making no apologies for hiring Wise. It told NPR that “Jared Wise is a valued member of the Justice Department and we appreciate his contributions to our team.”
From Rolling Stone US
