Mark Ibrahim, DEA agent, suspended from agency for being outside Capitol during riot: Report

Mark Ibrahim, an agent with the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), has been suspended from the agency for being among the mobs outside the Capitol building on Jan. 6, his lawyer told Reuters.

Gretchen Gaspari, Mr. Ibrahim’s attorney, said DEA officials told her client he was being placed on leave “because of his presence on Jan. 6,” when the Capitol building was breached, Reuters reported.

Mr. Ibrahim declined to comment except to say that he “never entered the building” when rioters stormed the complex, Reuters reported. He has not been charged with any related crimes.

Ms. Gaspari said that Mr. Ibrahim was off duty while on Capitol Hill but carrying his service weapon, Reuters reported. He was there because “it was a historic event,” she added, the report said.

DEA learned Mr. Ibrahim was outside the Capitol after he shared photos with fellow agents, Reuters reported. His weapons and security clearance have been stripped while suspended, the report said.

“DEA cannot comment on specific personnel matters,” a DEA official told The Washington Times. “If we receive information indicating an employee engaged in misconduct, DEA’s policy is to promptly refer the case to the appropriate authorities for review.

Spokespeople for the Office of the Inspector General at the DEA’s parent agency, the U.S. Department of Justice, did not immediately respond to a message regarding Mr. Ibrahim and the Reuters report.

More than 300 people have been charged so far in relation to the rioting at the Capitol, which happened as Congress met inside to certify the results of the White House race won by President Biden.

A bill proposed in the aftermath of Jan. 6, the Security Clearance Improvement Act of 2021, would require the government to ask security clearance applicants if they were at the Capitol that day.

“It is highly unlikely that such an individual will be found by investigators to have shown the conduct, character and loyalty to the United States that is a prerequisite to holding a national security position and viewing classified information,” Rep. Stephanie Murphy, a Florida Democrat who introduced the bill, said when she proposed it on Jan. 20.