Video from Jan. 6 attack shows Justice Department adviser telling rioters attacking police to “kill ’em”

Washington — Video footage from the Jan. 6, 2021, assault on the U.S. Capitol shows a man who now works as an adviser at the Justice Department shouting at rioters to “kill” law enforcement officers responding to the attack and calling them “the Gestapo.”

The footage, from a body camera worn by a Metropolitan Police Department officer, was first published Thursday by NPR. The network joined CBS News and other news organizations in suing to obtain thousands of hours of surveillance footage and court exhibits from the more than 1,000 criminal cases brought by the Justice Department against people who allegedly participated in the Capitol attack.

Among those defendants was Jared Wise, who eventually faced six charges as a result of his alleged actions on Jan. 6. He pleaded not guilty. Wise’s hiring by the Justice Department was reported last month. A Justice Department spokesperson said in a statement that Wise “is a valued member of The Department of Justice and we appreciate his contributions to our team.”

Wise was employed as a special agent and supervisory special agent with the FBI from 2004 through 2017, according to the Justice Department.

He was indicted in May 2023 on six counts that arose out of his alleged actions on Jan. 6, when a violent mob of President Trump’s supporters breached the U.S. Capitol building to protest the 2020 election results. Among the charges was one count of civil disorder and one count of assaulting, resisting or impeding an officer of the U.S. performing their official duties. 

In accompanying court papers, an FBI agent said that video footage depicted Wise inside the Capitol building on the afternoon of Jan. 6 after entering from a Senate door. Body camera footage from the Metropolitan Police Department also showed Wise engaging with police officers outside the Capitol, telling them, “You guys are disgusting. I’m former — I’m former law enforcement. You’re disgusting. You are the Nazi. You are the Gestapo. You can’t see it because you’re chasing a pension, right? Your pension. Your retirement right?”

The footage shows him continuing to yell at the officers, telling them, “Shame on you! Shame on you! Shame on you!”

When police who were attempting to move protesters back from the Capitol were knocked to the ground in front of Wise, the video shows him shouting toward them “Yeah, f*** them! Yeah, kill ’em!” He also allegedly yelled toward rioters attacking a police line, “Kill ’em! Kill ’em! Kill ’em!” 

Wise had lived in New Braunfels, Texas, until June 2022, after which he moved to Bend, Oregon, according to court records. An unidentified tipster told the FBI in January 2022 that Wise shared he was inside the Capitol on Jan. 6, the agent said. The FBI then obtained a court-authorized search warrant for Wise’s records, which confirmed he was around the Capitol that day, according to the filing.

Wise pleaded not guilty to the charges in June 2023. A trial was set to begin last fall and was ultimately held in January. But before the jury could begin deliberating, Mr. Trump issued blanket pardons to roughly 1,500 defendants charged for their alleged role in the Jan. 6 attack.

The Justice Department asked the court to dismiss Wise’s case on Jan. 20, the day of Mr. Trump’s inauguration, and it was granted one day later, filings show.

Scott MacFarlane

contributed to this report.