The Department of Justice is defending its decision to remove online records tied to hundreds of Jan. 6 criminal cases, escalating criticism that President Donald Trump’s administration is attempting to reshape the public narrative surrounding the Capitol attack.

Democrats were quick to label the move an attempt to “whitewash” history.

The controversy erupted Friday after journalists and legal observers noticed that dozens of DOJ press releases detailing arrests, convictions and sentencings connected to the Jan. 6, 2021, riot had disappeared from the agency’s website.

In response, the DOJ’s rapid response account on X confirmed the removals.

“There was nothing ‘quiet’ about it,” the department posted. “We are proud to reverse the DOJ’s weaponization under the Biden administration. We will do everything in our power to make whole those who were persecuted for political purposes. This includes stripping DOJ’s website of partisan propaganda.”

The deleted pages reportedly included case summaries involving members of the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers, far-right groups whose leaders were convicted of seditious conspiracy after prosecutors argued they coordinated efforts to stop Congress from certifying former President Joe Biden’s 2020 election victory.

The move comes as the administration continues dismantling many of the federal government’s Jan. 6 prosecutions. On his first day back in office earlier this year, Trump granted clemency to more than 1,500 people charged in connection with the Capitol riot, including individuals convicted of assaulting police officers.

Federal court records from the original prosecutions described rioters attacking officers with flagpoles, crutches, hockey sticks and chemical irritants during the hours-long siege.

The administration drew further scrutiny this week after announcing the creation of a $1.776 billion compensation fund for Trump allies who claim they were unfairly investigated during the Biden administration.

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche has not ruled out compensation for Jan. 6 defendants convicted of violent offenses.

Critics say the DOJ’s removal of the records threatens to erase part of the public record surrounding one of the most significant attacks on American democratic institutions in modern history.

Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Maryland), who served on the House committee investigating Jan. 6, previously called the riot “the most serious attack on our democracy since the Civil War” during committee proceedings in 2022.

Former Capitol Police officer Harry Dunn, who defended the Capitol during the attack, also warned against minimizing the violence he and other officers faced that day.

“I got called a lot of things on Jan. 6, but the one thing I’ll never be called is a coward,” Dunn testified before the House Jan. 6 committee in June 2022.

The DOJ has not said whether the removed web pages will be archived elsewhere or restored. Legal experts and historians have raised concerns that deleting official government case summaries could complicate future research and public accountability surrounding the Capitol attack.

The FBI previously described Jan. 6 as one of the largest criminal investigations in U.S. history, involving more than 1,500 defendants across nearly all 50 states.