Trump Grants Clemency To All Charged Over January 06 Attack On The Capitol

United States President Donald Trump has granted clemency to everyone charged in connection with the January 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol, marking one of his first official acts in the Oval Office.

In a significant reversal of the years-long effort to hold accountable those who attempted to overturn the results of the 2020 U.S. election, Trump pardoned approximately 1,500 of his supporters and commuted the sentences of 14 others on Monday.

“This proclamation ends a grave national injustice that has been perpetrated upon the American people over the last four years and begins a process of national reconciliation,” Trump said in a proclamation posted on the White House website.

These pardons cleared the criminal records of many individuals convicted of serious crimes related to January 6, including Enrique Tarrio, the former leader of the far-right Proud Boys, who had been sentenced to 22 years in prison for seditious conspiracy.

Additionally, the pardons erased the records of over 700 individuals convicted of misdemeanor offenses, such as trespassing, and halted numerous pending prosecutions.

Among the most notable figures to receive sentence commutations was Stewart Rhodes, the leader of the far-right Oath Keepers, who had received an 18-year prison sentence for seditious conspiracy, obstruction of an official proceeding, and tampering with documents and proceedings.

When asked whether individuals who assaulted police should face punishment, Trump remarked that they had already been in prison for “a long time.”

“I see murderers in this country get two years, one year, and maybe no time. So they’ve already been in jail for a long time. These people have been destroyed,” Trump said, describing their treatment as “outrageous”.

During his re-election campaign, Trump promised to pardon many of the defendants from the January 6 incident, but it remained unclear how far he would go in granting clemency to those involved in the attack.

“If you committed violence on that day, obviously you shouldn’t be pardoned,” Vance said. “And there’s a little bit of a grey area there.”

Trump’s act of clemency received immediate criticism from Democrats and other opponents of the president.

“The President’s actions are 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,” former Democratic House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi said in a post on X.
“It is shameful that the President has decided to make one of his top priorities the abandonment and betrayal of police officers who put their lives on the line to stop an attempt to subvert the peaceful transfer of power.”

In a recent interview with Fox News, Vice President JD Vance stated that only those who protested “peacefully” on January 6 should be eligible for pardons.

A total of 1,583 individuals were charged in connection with the events of January 6, when a mob of Trump supporters attempted to prevent a joint session of the U.S. Congress from certifying Joe Biden’s election victory.

The rioters injured more than 140 police officers and caused approximately $2.8 million in economic losses, according to U.S. prosecutors.

Over 1,200 people were convicted of various offenses, including around 250 individuals convicted of assault.

Of those charged, more than 700 received prison sentences.

Trump himself faced charges related to his role in the January 6 riot, but the U.S. Justice Department dismissed the case in November, adhering to its longstanding policy of not prosecuting a sitting president.