President Donald Trump on Monday, January 20, pardoned, commuted the prison sentences or vowed to dismiss the cases of all of the 1,500-plus people charged with crimes in the January 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol, including people convicted of assaulting police officers, using his clemency powers on his first day in office to undo the massive prosecution of the unprecedented assault on the seat of American democracy.
Trump also ordered the attorney general to seek the dismissal of about 450 pending January 6 cases. The pardons were expected after Trump’s years-long campaign to rewrite the history of the January 6 attack that left more than 100 police officers injured and threatened the peaceful transfer of power. While pardons were expected, the speed and the scope of the clemency amounted to a stunning dismantling of the Justice Department’s effort to hold participants accountable over what has been described as one of the darkest days in the country’s history.
Among those set to be released from prison are defendants captured on camera committing violent attacks on law enforcement as lawmakers met to certify President Joe Biden’s 2020 election victory. Leaders of the Oath Keepers and Proud Boys extremist groups convicted of seditious conspiracy in the most serious cases brought by the Justice Department will also be freed from prison after having their sentences commuted.
Casting the rioters as “patriots” and “hostages,” Trump claimed they had been unfairly treated by the Justice Department, which also charged him with federal crimes in two cases he contends were politically motivated. Trump said the pardons end “a grave national injustice that has been perpetrated upon the American people over the last four years and begins a process of national reconciliation.”
A ‘national reconciliation’
The pardons were met with elation from Trump supporters and lawyers for the Jan. 6 defendants. Trump supporters gathered late Monday in the cold outside the Washington jail, where more than a dozen defendants were being held before the pardons.
“We are deeply thankful for President Trump for his actions today,” said James Lee Bright, an attorney who represented Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes , who was serving an 18-year prison sentence after being convicted of seditious conspiracy and other crimes.
It’s unclear how quickly the defendants may be released from prison. An attorney for Enrique Tarrio, the former Proud Boys national chairman who was sentenced to 22 years in prison for seditious conspiracy, said he expected his client to be released from prison Monday night.
“This marks a pivotal moment in our client’s life, and it symbolizes a turning point for our nation,” attorney Nayib Hassan said in a statement. “We are optimistic for the future, as we now turn the page on this chapter, embracing new possibilities and opportunities.”
Democrats slammed the move to extend the pardons to violent rioters, many of whose crimes were captured on camera and broadcast on live TV. Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi called it “an outrageous insult to our justice system and the heroes who suffered physical scars and emotional trauma as they protected the Capitol, the Congress and the Constitution.”
Partner service
Learn French with Gymglish
Thanks to a daily lesson, an original story and a personalized correction, in 15 minutes per day.
Try for free
“Donald Trump is ushering in a Golden Age for people that break the law and attempt to overthrow the government,” Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer said in an emailed statement.
Sentences also commuted
Trump had suggested in the weeks leading up to his return to the White House that instead of blanket pardons he was going to look at the January 6 defendants on a case-by-case basis. Vice President JD Vance had said just days ago that people responsible for the violence during the Capitol riot “obviously” should not be pardoned.
Fourteen defendants, including several convicted of seditious conspiracy, had their sentences commuted, while the rest of those found guilty of January 6 crimes were granted “full, complete and unconditional” pardons.
More than 1,200 people have been convicted in the riot, including approximately 250 people convicted of assault charges. Hundreds of January 6 defendants who didn’t engage in any of the violence and destruction were charged with misdemeanor trespassing offenses, and many of those served little to no time behind bars.
But the violence that day has been documented extensively through videos, testimony and other evidence showing rioters – some armed with poles, bats and bear spray – swarming the Capitol, quickly overrunning overwhelmed police, shattering windows and sending lawmakers and aides running into hiding.
Police were dragged into the crowd and beaten. One officer screamed in pain as he was crushed in a doorframe, and another suffered a heart attack after a rioter pressed a stun gun against his neck and repeatedly shocked him. Officers have described in testimony fearing for their lives as members of the mob hurled insults and obscenities at them.
Of the more than 1,500 people charged, about 250 people have been convicted of crimes by a judge or a jury after a trial. At least 1,020 had pleaded guilty to crimes as of January 1. Only two people were acquitted of all charges by judges after bench trials. No jury has fully acquitted a Capitol riot defendant. More than 1,000 rioters have already been sentenced, with over 700 receiving at least some time behind bars. The rest were given some combination of probation, community service, home detention or fines.
