Ex-FBI agent accused of urging to kill cops on Jan. 6 joins Trump’s DOJ

A former FBI agent who was accused of inciting rioters to kill police officers on Jan. 6, 2021, now holds a post within President Donald Trump’s Department of Justice.

The ex-agent, Jared Wise, is serving as an adviser in the DOJ’s so-called “Weaponization Working Group,” a task force Trump created to pursue political retribution while claiming to root out abuses in law enforcement. 

Wise will serve as a counselor to Ed Martin, the controversial former head of the Eagle Forum and Trump’s original pick for U.S. attorney for Washington, D.C. Martin, who participated in the Jan. 6 insurrection himself, now leads the Weaponization Working Group after Trump quietly pulled his nomination when it became clear that the Senate—including some Republicans—wouldn’t support him.

Martin’s past defending of insurrectionists has already raised eyebrows, but bringing Wise on board is a particularly striking move. A man once accused of encouraging an angry mob to kill police officers is now helping steer the DOJ’s effort to go after anyone who tried to hold those insurrectionists accountable.

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According to a memo from Attorney General Pam Bondi, the group’s mission includes investigating “improper investigative tactics and unethical prosecutions” tied to the insurrection. But its name signals a broader and more troubling agenda: using the DOJ as a weapon against Trump’s enemies.

Wise’s exact duties remain unclear, but one source familiar with Martin’s thinking told the Times that Martin was “thrilled” to have him, even suggesting that If “we could genetically design an adviser,” they would look like Wise.

Perhaps that’s because Wise embodies the very grievances that the task force was built around. He was charged in May 2023 and later indicted for allegedly screaming “Kill ’em! Kill ’em! Kill ’em!” as rioters attacked Capitol police. Prosecutors also said he compared officers to the Gestapo, Nazi Germany’s brutal secret police. He faced multiple charges, including for assaulting, resisting, and impeding officers.

“You guys are disgusting,” Wise allegedly said in body camera footage recorded by law enforcement. “I’m former law enforcement. You’re disgusting. You are the Nazi. You are the Gestapo. You can’t see it … Shame on you! Shame on you! Shame on you!”

Wise denied wrongdoing, claiming in 2024 court filings that he was a victim of “selective prosecution, selective enforcement, and vindictive prosecution.”

But it didn’t matter. On Day 1 of Trump’s second term, he issued a sweeping clemency order for Jan. 6 insurrectionists, some of whom later reoffended. Wise’s case, which was mid-trial in a D.C. federal court, was immediately tossed out.

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Even with a DOJ that critics say has been bending to Trump’s will, Wise’s new role stands out. He’s not just another pardon recipient; he’s now helping run Trump’s official revenge tour.

Before all of this, Wise worked on public corruption and counterterrorism cases in the FBI’s Washington and New York field offices. But his tenure ended badly after his superiors in New York reportedly soured on his work and sidelined him, according to a former senior FBI official.

After leaving the FBI, Wise joined the right-wing undercover group Project Veritas, where he participated in efforts to infiltrate teachers’ unions across Ohio, Michigan, Kentucky, and Wisconsin.

Now, instead of undermining unions, he’s helping lead a weaponized DOJ. And for Trump’s allies, that may be the entire point.

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