Which specific Jan. 6 defendants have been reported hired by federal agencies since 2021, and which agencies employed them?

1. The one clearly named case: Jared L. Wise and the Justice Department

Multiple outlets report that Jared L. Wise — described in coverage as a former FBI agent who was charged in connection with urging violence at the Capitol on January 6 — was later employed within the Justice Department after receiving clemency, making him the clearest, documented example of a Jan. 6 participant joining a federal agency since 2021 ^{[1] [2]}.

2. ICE: congressional inquiries, assertions, and the limits of evidence

Congressional Democrats, led by Rep. Jamie Raskin, have demanded records and internal communications from DHS and ICE to determine whether pardoned or charged Jan. 6 participants were recruited or hired, alleging targeted recruitment messaging and relaxed vetting at ICE; however, these are allegations and requests for documents rather than published confirmations of specific hires by name in ICE’s ranks ^{[4] [3] [5]}.

3. White House pardons and the context for post-2025 hires

The wider policy context is President Trump’s mass pardons and commutations for many Jan. 6 defendants after returning to office, which critics argue opened pathways for formerly charged individuals to seek federal employment; supporters contend pardons restore rights and do not equal wrongdoing by agencies that subsequently hire those individuals — a dispute reflected both on official White House pages and in press coverage ^{[6] [7]}.

4. Reporting that suggests other possible federal employees but lacks public names

Investigative threads and public records searches have turned up references to at least one unnamed January 6 participant who worked for the Treasury Department and avoided prosecution, but reporting has not established a public list of named defendants hired across federal agencies beyond the Wise reporting; open-source lists of Jan. 6 cases and prosecutions reflect many defendants but do not by themselves show post-2021 federal hires ^{[8] [9]}.

5. Political and institutional dynamics shaping the debate

Democratic lawmakers pushing for document production argue the hiring of former rioters into law enforcement roles poses public-safety and integrity risks, while administration and agency spokespeople have defended hiring practices as lawful and necessary to meet staffing goals — notably ICE’s expansion ambitions — creating a partisan overlay to what are partly personnel- and vetting-policy questions ^{[5] [3] [2]}.

6. Investigative obstacles and competing narratives

Efforts to identify post-2021 hires are complicated by sealed records, privacy protections, ongoing litigation (including lawsuits by FBI agents seeking anonymity out of safety concerns), and the fact that congressional requests for internal documents may take time to yield names or be resisted — meaning public confirmation beyond the limited cases already reported could be delayed or remain undisclosed ^{[10] [4]}.

7. Bottom line: confirmed hires, allegations, and what remains unknown

On the record in reporting compiled so far, Jared L. Wise is the most concretely identified former Jan. 6 participant employed by a federal agency (the Justice Department) after the events of 2021 ^{[1] [2]}; other claims that ICE or DHS have broadly hired pardoned rioters are the subject of congressional letters and media allegations but lack public, named confirmations in the sources reviewed ^{[4] [3] [5]}. Journalistic and official follow-up — including responses to Raskin’s document requests and agency disclosures — will be necessary to move from allegation to verified roster.