Emails reveal a former Trump administration official encouraged federal agents to violently confront protesters during immigration protests.

Emails obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request by American Oversight show that Joseph Mazzara, a State Department employee who previously served as acting general counsel at the Department of Homeland Security, urged federal agents to use violence against protesters during June 2020 unrest tied to immigration crackdowns, writing on June 11 that agents should have 'just started hitting the rioters' with sticks.