Biden Justice Department wields controversial Trump-era legal tools
Federal prosecutors are invoking a 1968-era statute to pursue rioters, spurring accusations of racism.
Federal prosecutors have employed a controversial 1968-era statute in recent weeks to charge dozens of suspects arrested in the Capitol riot in January. | Win McNamee/Getty Images
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President Joe Biden’s Justice Department is defending its use of an anti-riot statute that critics say is racist — a tool the Trump-era DOJ made aggressive use of to pursue some of those accused of violence in connection with last year’s racial justice protests.
Making matters more complicated: Federal prosecutors have employed the controversial statute in recent weeks to charge dozens of suspects arrested in the Capitol riot in January, many of them affiliated with groups that espouse white supremacist views.