After latest Jan. 6 seditious conspiracy convictions, Trump says Justice Dept. is ‘destroying lives’

A day after federal prosecutors won their latest high-profile cases against leaders of the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol, former president Donald Trump lashed out in a social media post at the Justice Department, claiming it and the FBI are “destroying the lives of so many Great American Patriots.”

“Back in the USA, but sadly I see so many really bad things happening to our Country,” Trump, who broke ground earlier this week on a golf course in Scotland, wrote on Truth Social, his social media platform.

“The DOJ and FBI are destroying the lives of so many Great American Patriots, right before our very eyes,” he wrote. “The Court System is a RUBBER STAMP for their conviction and imprisonment. All this while the Radical Left protects and coddles extremists and murderers at a level, and with intensity, never seen before. GET SMART AMERICA, THEY ARE COMING AFTER YOU!!!”

On Thursday, former Proud Boys chairman Henry “Enrique” Tarrio and three other leaders of the far-right extremist group were found guilty of seditious conspiracy in the attack on Capitol. The result marked the third decisive victory for the Justice Department in three seditious conspiracy trials held after what it called a historic act of domestic terrorism to prevent the peaceful transfer of power from Trump to Democrat Joe Biden after the 2020 presidential election.

A spokesman for Trump, who is now seeking the 2024 Republican nomination for president, did not immediately respond when asked if Trump’s post was intended as a direct response to Thursday’s verdicts.

Trump has increasingly expressed solidarity with those arrested in connection with the Jan. 6 attack that injured more than 140 members of law enforcement and resulted in the deaths of five people.

Trump, for instance, lent his voice to a recording by inmates in the D.C. jail being held in connection to the insurrection. The song, “Justice for All,” features Trump reciting the Pledge of Allegiance mixed with a rendition of the national anthem. Trump played it at the first rally of his 2024 presidential campaign.

He has previously complained about “people being persecuted so unfairly relating to the January 6th protest concerning the Rigged Presidential Election.”

In September, Trump said he would issue full pardons and a government apology to rioters who stormed the Capitol and violently attacked law enforcement to stop the democratic transfer of power. “I mean full pardons with an apology to many,” he said.

After Thursday’s verdicts, Attorney General Merrick Garland spoke at the Justice Department and said the jury’s decision made it clear “that the Justice Department will do everything in its power to defend the American people and American democracy.”

Garland noted that one of the country’s largest criminal investigations ever has secured more than 600 convictions.

The latest convictions could also be relevant for Trump.

Special counsel Jack Smith is investigating whether Trump or those around him broke the law in seeking to hold on to power by fanning false and incendiary claims that the election was stolen, pressuring state and federal officials to assist the effort, and sending thousands of supporters who heard him speak at a Jan. 6 rally to march to the Capitol.

Spencer S. Hsu contributed to this report.