Justice Dept. Alerts Judge of ‘Apparent Threats’ From Jan. 6 Defense Counsel

On July 28, Justice Department lawyers filed a notice in United States v. David John Lesperance et. al. to alert the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia that counsel for the defense in the case had “made apparent threats against Department of Justice personnel handling cases” that arose out of the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol.

The defense counsel in question is John M. Pierce. The Justice Department is currently prosecuting his clients for their alleged involvement in the Jan. 6 attack. Their charges in this case include disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted building, and violent entry and disorderly conduct in a Capitol building, among others.

In its notice, the Justice Department attached exhibits of “threatening” tweets allegedly written and posted by Pierce in recent days. Exhibit one, for example, is a screenshot of a tweet from Pierce’s twitter account that reads, “[T]he @TheJusticeDept should drop all charges against all January 6th defendants. If you do not, I will destroy your careers and any remaining institutional legitimacy you may have. You have been warned.” The tweet is accompanied by a blacked out image of Kyle Rittenhouse—the man who shot three and killed two individuals at a racial injustice protest in Kenosha, Wisconsin—holding an AR-15-style rifle. 

In response to the Justice Department’s filing, Pierce tweeted, “So @TheJusticeDept is frightened of my social media posts. They just filed something about my ‘threats.’ Truly unreal. They can terrorize infants with AR-15 laser dots across the nation but they can’t handle my tweets. You guys are honestly pathetic and evil beyond description.” In another tweet, Pierce wrote, “Late on a Friday night. Nice move guys. Really classy.”

You can read the Justice Department’s notice here or below: