Federal official backs Trump 'secretary of retribution' in harassment of key J6 prosecutor
Raw Story can reveal that Rocco last month used the X account @Krow121812 to tag Attorney General Pam Bondi in a post sharing an interview with former Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio.
The interview shows Tarrio, who was convicted of seditious conspiracy in relation to the January 6, 2021 attack on Congress before receiving a full pardon from President Donald Trump, discussing an apparent effort by Jocelyn Ballantine, a senior prosecutor at the Department of Justice, to pressure him into implicating Trump in the criminal conspiracy to disrupt certification of the electoral vote in the 2020 presidential election.
The New York Times has reported that federal prosecutors approached Tarrio and offered leniency if he confirmed he communicated with Trump through intermediaries in the run-up to Jan. 6.
“Hey @AGPamBondi,” the post by @Krow121812 reads. “You may want to spend a little less time on Fox News and a little bit more time cleaning up your own house.”
The @Krow121812 account also reshared a video of Ivan Raiklin, a far-right provocateur who describes himself as Trump’s “secretary of retribution,” stalking Ballantine outside the federal courthouse in Washington, D.C. in late December, accusing her of “covering up the fed-surrection.”
Rocco hasn’t tried to hide her identity: Last September, @Krow121812 thanked Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth for reinstating military service members who refused COVID-19 vaccination. The post was signed, “Lt. Col. Carolyn Rocco.”
Likewise, Rocco confirmed her position at the ODNI in September by posting a reply expressing appreciation to Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard for leading staff as they took oaths. Gabbard thanked Rocco for joining the office.
Ballantine, deputy chief of the DOJ National Security Section, has increasingly become a target for Trump supporters, for her role overseeing the Proud Boys prosecution, which yielded the convictions of the leadership cadre of the neo-fascist street gang, and for prosecuting Michael Flynn, Trump’s former national security advisor.
Cara Castronuova, a former Proud Boys associate now White House correspondent for LindellTV, asked Trump about Ballantine at the White House last month, about how he felt about her being assigned to prosecute the Jan. 6 pipe bomber case.
“Jocelyn is being looked at,” Trump replied. “They all have to be looked at. What they’re doing is so bad.”
'Drive for retribution'
Following a Reuters report in October, DNI Gabbard belatedly confirmed that she launched the IWWG last April.
Reuters revealed the involvement of at least 39 people representing the ODNI, White House, CIA, Department of Justice, Department of War, FBI, Department of Homeland Security, and other agencies.
The effort is meant to “help … steer” Trump’s “drive for retribution against his perceived enemies.”
ODNI has maintained that the IWWG is not “targeting any individual person.”
ODNI spokesperson Olivia C. Coleman told Raw Story: “IWWG is simply looking at available facts and evidence that may point to actions, reports, agencies, individuals, etc, who illegally weaponized the government in order to carry out political attacks.”
Coleman said the IWWG was not seeking Ballantine's removal.
Rocco could not be reached for comment.
Last February, prior to the launch of the IWWG, Bondi announced a DOJ Weaponization Working Group, tasking it with “the pursuit of improper investigative tactics and unethical prosecutions relating to the events at or near the United States Capitol on January 6, 2021 — as distinct from good-faith actions by federal employees simply following orders from superiors.”
Edward R. Martin Jr., a prominent rightwing activist, was named by Trump to lead the DOJ group, after his nomination for U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia failed to win Senate approval. Martin also heads the DOJ office for pardon requests.
Jared Wise, a former FBI agent who was in the middle of a trial for assaulting law enforcement and other charges related to Jan. 6 when he received a Trump pardon, is also among DOJ officials in the IWWG, according to Reuters.
Watching other rioters at the Capitol push against a police line, Wise reportedly yelled: “Kill ’em! Kill ’em!”
‘The fate of your position’
Raiklin has called for “live-streamed swatting raids” against individuals on a “Deep State Target List” and elicited direct calls for violence. On Dec. 30, he posted to X a video of himself tailing Ballantine and shouting questions.
“Do you find it surprising that you still have a job at the Department of Justice?” Raiklin shouted.
“Do you think you survived because Ed Martin ended up going to the Department of Justice Main, as opposed to being the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia?
“Do you have any involvement in that?”
Raiklin suggested Ballantine intervened to derail the Senate vote to approve Martin’s nomination, so Martin would not be able “to expose [her] involvement in covering up for the fed-surrection.”
“I’d be very shocked to hear that you’re going to continue to work at the Department of Justice after this goes and posts,” Raiklin said. “So, I guess all I can say is belated Merry Christmas, happy holidays, Happy New Year, and we’ll see about the fate of your position at the Department of Justice.”
The @Krow121812 account linked to Rocco reposted a post by YouTuber David Freiheit, sharing Raiklin’s post.
Raw Story asked the DOJ for comment from Martin on whether he is seeking Ballantine’s dismissal, and from Bondi on whether she is considering such a move. The request went unreturned.
Ballantine is leading the prosecution of the alleged Jan. 6 pipe bomber, apprehended last month. Bondi and FBI leaders have cast the failure to make an arrest before Trump’s return to office as a blight on the Biden administration.
“Today’s arrest happened because the Trump administration has made this case a priority,” Bondi said in early December, announcing the arrest of Brian Cole Jr.
“The total lack of movement on this case in our nation’s Capitol undermined the public trust of our enforcement agencies.”
However, the case has alienated some Trump supporters, thanks to the suspect’s statement that he believed Trump’s lies about the 2020 election. In essence, the pro-Trump narrative holds that the pipe bomb plot was a key component of a conspiracy by the FBI and Democrats to orchestrate the Jan. 6 riot, to make Trump and his supporters look bad, thereby derailing attempts to block certification of election results.
Rocco is among those who have expressed scorn towards the DOJ and FBI for the handling of the case.
Responding to an appearance by then-FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino on Fox News, @Krow121812 posted: “This is a big fat slap in the face.
“I really can’t believe after the years we’ve been through that so many people can’t see this for what it is. You’re a disappointment @dbongino. Looks like discernment should be top of people’s Christmas wish list because y’all don’t have it. Disgraceful.”
'Riddle me this, Batman'
Raiklin and Rocco have worked together since at least early 2024. They were among signatories to a Declaration of Military Accountability issued in January 2024, pledging to “seek appointments to executive branch offices” and court-martial Biden-era leaders who implemented COVID-19 mandates.
That month, Raiklin and Rocco appeared on a podcast hosted by Joe Oltmann, a prominent election denier held in contempt of court for refusing to cooperate in a defamation lawsuit related to his baseless claim that Dominion Voting Systems colluded with “antifa organizers” to throw the 2020 election to Biden.
At least one official targeted by Raiklin and Rocco has been shown the door.
Appearing on Roseanne Barr’s podcast in October 2024, Raiklin took aim at Dr. Terry Adirim, principal advisor for health protection policies to Biden's Defense Secretary, Lloyd Austin. Adirim recommended that all military service members receive COVID vaccines. Raiklin accused her of “genocide and mass mutilation.”
On Dec. 16 2024, Adirim started a new job, leading the CIA’s Center for Global Health Services.
Six days later, the @Krow121812 account posted: “Riddle me this, Batman. How does a person — Terry Adirim — who was responsible for the mass confusion and deception imposed on service members, resulting in 8,700 unlawfully forced out and another 90,000 disenfranchised, get selected to fill a [senior executive service] position in our [United States Government]?”
CIA Director John Ratcliffe and Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard testify in the Senate. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque
Raiklin shared the post, tagging CIA Director John Ratcliffe and adding: “Is the architect of the illegal DOD CCP-19 Jab Genocide Mandate Terry Adirim burrowing in at the CIA?”
The post appears to have been taken down, but an archived copy of Raiklin’s post was an exhibit in a federal lawsuit filed by Adirim. At the time of publication, the original post by @Krow121812 was still available.
A post on Rocco's LinkedIn page included the same wording as the X thread. The LinkedIn post and X thread included identical screengrabs of Adirim’s LinkedIn post announcing a new position “as senior executive at US Federal Government” and a photocopy of a Defense Department memorandum signed by Adirim.
Adirim was fired last April. She filed a lawsuit against the CIA and Ratcliffe, alleging breach of contract and violation of due process and privacy rights. The lawsuit accuses Raiklin of defamation and intentional infliction of emotional distress.
Adirim is seeking permission from a federal judge to add Rocco, Gabbard, ODNI and the IWWG as defendants.
The proposed amended complaint, filed in federal court on Oct. 24, accuses the CIA of leaking Adirim’s firing to the right-wing Breitbart News, “at the behest of” Rocco and the IWWG.
Coleman, the ODNI spokesperson, told Raw Story neither Rocco nor the IWWG had any involvement in Adirim’s firing or leaking her information.
Ronn Easton (provided photo)
Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) at Wednesday's hearing. Picture: Screengrab
Chris QuaglinChris Quaglin shows off ammunition for his various guns. Courtesy Storyline Media
Randy Ireland at a rally in support of Jan. 6 defendants in Portland, Oregon in August 2021. Courtesy Storyline Media
The Conspiracists (image provided by Broadleaf Books)
Noelle Cook (photo provided by Broadleaf Books)
Black Sun Rising Militia members discuss plans for a coordinated attack on Oct. 16, 2024, in Signal posts obtained by Raw Story
Vincent Weidlich. Picture: Academia.edu