The Justice Department is investigating potential criminal charges against former US Institute of Peace (USIP) officials who tried to stop the change in Trump administration’s leadership in a federally funded think tank on Monday, a senior DOJ official told the Daily Color News Foundation.

Officials requesting anonymity told DCNF that the DOJ is investigating whether certain USIP actions, including removing and destroying internal and external door locks, caused illegal fire hazards. Officials also flagged the widespread distribution of internal flyers that direct USIP staff not to work with potentially Trump administration officials as potential sabotage. DCNF was the first to report on USIP’s internal flyer campaign and the destruction of door locks. (Related: Exclusive: amidst the rebellion against Doge, aborted taxpayer-funded think tank)

“Eighteen board members have been legally removed, and the remaining board members have appointed Kenneth Jackson’s representative president,” White House assistant reporter Anna Kelly previously told DCNF. “No fraudulent bureaucrats will be allowed to hold agencies hostages. The Trump administration will enforce the president’s executive body and ensure that his agency is held accountable to the American people.”

The investigation, which remains in the early stages, follows a controversial standoff on Monday after a former USIP leader attempted to block the establishment of Kenneth Jackson, who was appointed as the institute’s new president on March 14. Presidential Order It called for federally funded organizations like USIP to scale operations to bare statutory minimums, sparking leadership reforms the institute tried to resist.

USIP Leadership began preparing for the conflict a few weeks before the executive order was issued. The February 6th internal document, obtained exclusively by the DCNF, outlined plans to deny access to external officials and reaffirmed the Institute’s discretion on security systems and facilities. A flyer was posted throughout the building with names and photos of officials from the Government Efficiency Bureau (DOGE) to inform staff members of their presence and avoid conversation.

(Left) A photo of a flyer widely distributed throughout the American Peace Headquarters Association prior to the arrival of the Trump administration. (Right) Photo taken in Washington, DC on March 18, 2025, depicting the same flyer supported by the window of a security guard booth outside USIP’s headquarters (Thomas English/Daily Caller News Foundation)

Jackson and other Doge officials were chased by USIP lawyers after they arrived on March 14 with copies of law enforcement and Trump’s orders, sources previously told DCNF. The following weekend, USIP leadership escalated resistance. It will terminate private security companies, disable the internet and telephone systems, and rely on Walkie Talky communications within the building.

Doge officials returned on Monday to find the building trapped and barricaded on the fifth floor. USIP officials, called the Metropolitan Police Station (MPD), told sources previously that they told DCNF. DCNF only reached a request from the US Lawyer’s Office after reports of the disability by laboratory staff. The MPD went through emergency stairs to the fifth floor, removing former USIP President George Moose and other senior officials from the premises.

A federal judge refused to issue a restraining order Wednesday to stop the leadership transition, but despite the situation USIP refuses to comply, she scathed Doge’s cooperation with law enforcement. (Related: Legal bids to repel taxpayer-funded think tank Doge are roaring)

DOJ officials did not specify which individuals were under investigation or when a charge decision would be made.

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