By Steve Neavling
President Trump has granted pardons, commutations, or case dismissals for every person charged in connection with the Jan. 6, 2021, U.S. Capitol riot.
This sweeping use of clemency, issued on his first day back in the Oval Office, includes people convicted of assaulting police officers during the unprecedented attack on the heart of American democracy, the Associated Press reports.
Just hours after taking office Monday, Trump issued clemency orders clearing the way for the release of people convicted of violent offenses, including leading members of far-right extremist groups. These groups were previously found guilty of orchestrating unsuccessful efforts to keep Trump in power after his loss to Democrat Joe Biden in the 2020 election.
Trump’s actions mark the culmination of a yearslong campaign to reframe the events of Jan. 6, when more than 100 police officers were injured as a mob of his supporters stormed the Capitol. Armed with weapons ranging from bats to bear spray, the rioters overwhelmed law enforcement, smashed windows, and forced lawmakers and staff to flee.
While observers had anticipated clemency for some participants, the sheer scope and speed of Trump’s orders stunned many, undermining the Justice Department’s extensive efforts to prosecute the offenders in what has been called one of the nation’s darkest moments.
In addition to the pardons, Trump directed the attorney general to seek dismissal of approximately 450 unresolved cases still working their way through the courts. This move further dismantles what had been the largest investigation ever conducted by the Justice Department.
Referring to the rioters as “patriots” and “hostages,” Trump argued that the Justice Department had treated them unfairly. He characterized the pardons as a step to rectify “a grave national injustice that has been perpetrated upon the American people over the last four years” and declared it the beginning of “a process of national reconciliation.”
Supporters of the Jan. 6 defendants and their lawyers expressed jubilation following the announcement. On Monday evening, crowds gathered in the cold outside a Washington jail where several defendants had been detained, celebrating the president’s sweeping clemency orders.
