An investigation by National Public Radio (NPR) revealed that President Donald Trump's administration attempted to delete or distort official records related to the assault on the Capitol on January 6, 2021, when a mob of the then-president's supporters stormed the Capitol to prevent the certification of Joe Biden's election victory. Biden.

According to NPR, since Trump's return to the White House in January 2025, the Republican administration has pushed through changes to official documents and court records related to more than 1,500 participants in the attack, many of whom were pardoned by the president himself. These include individuals convicted of seditious conspiracy and others accused of assaulting officers from the Capitol Police and the Metropolitan Police Department of Washington, DC

NPR, which in the last year has faced federal funding cuts amid the administration's offensive against certain media outlets, maintains that the Justice Department removed terms such as "riot," "riot," and "insurrection" from official documents. Furthermore, it notes the dismissal of dozens of prosecutors who participated in the legal proceedings stemming from the attack.

An Official Narrative Under Dispute

The investigation highlights that the president and members of his cabinet have chosen to present those responsible for the assault as “great patriots” in the eyes of the law, who were “persecuted by the government,” in contrast to the narrative of the previous Democratic administration, which characterized the events as an insurrection against the constitutional order.

Trump himself was indicted in a federal case for attempting to subvert the certification of the 2020 election results, a case that was dropped after his victory in the 2024 presidential election. Since then, the president has insisted that the legal proceedings against him and his supporters were politically motivated.

With the goal of preserving the historical memory of what happened, NPR created a public database that brings together more than 1,500 court files, videos and testimonies. The material offers a detailed chronology of events and documents hundreds of assaults against law enforcement officers, including blows with blunt objects, crushing by crowds, shoving, and the use of chemical sprays. According to the civil rights group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), more than 30 of those pardoned by Trump have been arrested again for other crimes, ranging from child sexual abuse and possession of child pornography to illegal possession of firearms, trespassing, and threats against public figures, including the Democratic minority leader in the House of Representatives, Hakeem Jeffries. The January 6 attack occurred after Trump, at a rally near the White House, urging his supporters to march on the Capitol and “fight with all their might.” In the first 36 hours, five people died, including Officer Brian Sicknick, who died after suffering strokes following his confrontation with the mob. To that end are added four agents who committed suicide months later, leaving a wound still open in the recent political history of the United States.