The lawsuit accused the DOJ of carrying out an "unlawful and retaliatory" purge of FBI agents who worked on the January 6 probe.

Two sets of FBI agents who worked on cases stemming from the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol — as well as the criminal investigations of President Donald Trump — have filed lawsuits to block Justice Department leadership from assembling lists of agents they say will be used as part of a retaliation campaign.

The lawsuit follows a Jan. 31 memo from the acting deputy attorney general ordering the firing of several FBI leaders and calling for the identification of other agents.

Sixteen FBI agents are suing the Department of Justice to stop its plans to identify employees involved in the Jan. 6 and Trump classified documents investigations. The lawsuits came after the FBI was ordered to turn over to the DOJ the responses to a 13-question survey about agents’ work on the cases brought against those who stormed the Capitol on Jan.

A group of FBI agents are seeking an emergency court order to prevent President Donald Trump’s Justice Department from keeping and publishing a list of bureau employees who investigated the Jan. 6 Capitol attack,

Acting Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove’s demand for the bureau to compile a list of everyone who worked on Capitol riot cases has stirred fears of retribution.

In a class action suit filed on Tuesday, the agents said the information will be used to retaliate against them through firings or other actions.

FBI leaders have sent to the Justice Department information about agents and other employees who worked on cases related to the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol attack, according to a person familiar with the action.

By Sarah N. Lynch and Andrew Goudsward WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Two separate groups of FBI employees sued the U.S. Justice Department on Tuesday, seeking to protect the identities of those agents and others who investigated supporters of Donald Trump for storming the U.