Trump pardoned all those accused of the attack on the US Capitol on January 6 | Politics News
The US president has cleaned up a long-standing effort to punish those responsible for trying to overturn the 2020 election.
United States President Donald Trump granted pardons to all those accused of attacking the US Capitol on January 6, 2021 in one of his first official actions in the Oval Office.
In the summary turn of several years of driving to punish those responsible for trying to overturn the outcome of the 2020 US election, Trump on Monday pardoned about 1,500 of his supporters and commuted the sentences of 14 others.
“This proclamation ends a grave national injustice perpetrated against the American people over the past four years and begins a process of national reconciliation,” Trump said in a proclamation posted on the White House website.
Trump’s pardons wiped the slate clean for many of those convicted on January 6 of committing the most serious crimes, including Enrique Tarrio, the former leader of the far-right Proud Boys, who was sentenced to 22 years in prison for seditious conspiracy.
The pardons also wiped the criminal records of more than 700 people convicted of misdemeanors, such as trespassing, and halted hundreds of pending criminal prosecutions.
Among the most prominent figures to have their sentences commuted was Stewart Rhodes, the leader of the far-right Oath Keepers, who sentenced to 18 years for seditious association, obstruction of official procedure and unauthorized alteration of documents and procedures.
“So they’ve been in prison for a long time,” Trump said as he signed the pardons.
“These people are devastated. What they did to these people is outrageous.”
While Trump promised to pardon many of those charged on January 6 during his re-election campaign, it was unclear how far he would go to pardon those involved in the attack.
In an interview with Fox News last week, Vice President JD Vance said that only those who “peacefully” protested on January 6 should receive a pardon.
“If you committed violence that day, obviously you shouldn’t be forgiven,” Vance said. “And there’s a bit of a gray area there.”
Trump’s pardon act drew swift condemnation from Democrats and other critics of the president.
“The president’s actions are an outrageous affront to our justice system and the heroes who have suffered physical scars and emotional trauma while protecting the Capitol, Congress and the Constitution,” former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said in a post on X.
“It is shameful that the president has chosen to make the abandonment and betrayal of police officers who risked their lives to stop an attempt to undermine a peaceful transfer of power one of his top priorities.”
A total of 1,583 people have been charged with the attacks on January 6, when a crowd of Trump supporters tried to prevent a joint session of the US Congress from confirming the election victory of US President Joe Biden.
The rioters injured more than 140 police officers and caused economic losses of about $2.8 million, according to US prosecutors.
More than 1,200 people were convicted of criminal offenses, including about 250 people convicted of assault.
Of the total number, more than 700 people were sentenced to prison terms.
Trump himself faced charges for his role in the Jan. 6 riots until the U.S. Justice Department dismissed the case in November in line with its longstanding policy of not prosecuting a sitting president.
