A U.S. government employee violated the law on Jan. 6, 2021, but was not prosecuted, according to an internal report obtained by The Epoch Times.
Investigators with the U.S. Treasury Department Office of Inspector General (OIG), acting on a tip from the U.S. Department of Justice’s inspector general, found that an OIG worker was on U.S. Capitol grounds as the Capitol was breached on Jan. 6.
The employee admitted during an interview with the OIG to being near the Capitol but made a number of false claims, including that he did not witness any violence and did not do anything illegal, according to the OIG.
The worker stayed on the grounds, moving to the West Plaza, for about two hours. During that time, he said later, he saw clashes between the Capitol Police and protesters. Video footage from the scene showed law enforcement officers retreating, protesters becoming violent, and barricades lying on the ground.
The Treasury Department worker was not identified by name.
“The investigation determined that the employee went through an U.S. Capitol Police (USCP) barricade and remained inside the restricted grounds for approximately two hours during the riot at the U.S. Capitol, in violation of restricted grounds or buildings and conduct while on government property,” the watchdog said. “The OIG substantiated this allegation after conducting interviews, reviewing records and conducting open source research. The employee admitted that he went through a barricade and remained inside the barricaded areas for an extended period of time.”
It also said that “the OIG also substantiated lack of candor.”
The Treasury Department did not respond to a request for comment.
An OIG spokesman told The Epoch Times in an email that the employee in question “is no longer employed by the U.S. Department of the Treasury.”
“I’m sorry, we cannot discuss the circumstances of this employee’s departure,” he said.
The case was presented for prosecution to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia, according to the document. That office declined on May 27, 2022, to prosecute the government employee.
The office did not respond when asked why it declined prosecution.
The investigation was closed on July 13, 2022.
Other Prosecutions
A small number of people who were employed by the government on Jan. 6 have been prosecuted.He was sentenced in late 2023 to 70 months in prison and two years of supervised release.
Paul Lovley worked for the National Security Agency when the breach happened. He was charged with entering or remaining in a restricted building or grounds and parading, demonstrating, or picketing in a Capitol building.
He pleaded guilty to the latter charge in exchange for prosecutors’ dropping the other count. He was sentenced in 2023 to three years of probation.
Others who worked for local governments, including police officers, have been charged and convicted over the breach.
