The four-year anniversary of the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol is getting new focus, as lawmakers brace for the possibility that President-elect Donald Trump will soon pardon many of the more than 1,500 people charged with crimes for their actions related to the riot. .
Trump has said he will pardon the rioters on “Day One” of his presidency, which begins on January 20. “I’ll probably do it pretty quickly,” he said recently on NBC’s “Meet the Press.” “These people suffered long and hard,” he added. There may be some exceptions to this. I have to look. “But, you know, if someone is an extremist, he’s crazy.”
His promise, made throughout his campaign for the White House, overshadows events Monday as lawmakers gather to certify the presidential election for the first time since 2021, when Trump supporters stormed the Capitol and temporarily halted the certification of the election he lost to Democrat Joe. Biden.
Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, Republican of Georgia, said she spoke at length with Trump and is pressuring him to pardon everyone who participated in the siege. Few Republicans would go that far, but many believe it is appropriate for Trump to consider pardons on a case-by-case basis.
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“Here we are almost four years later. Many of these people have been in prison since 2021. Even those who fought the Capitol Police, caused damage to the Capitol, I believe they have served their sentence and I believe they should all be pardoned and released from prison.” “Some of these people have been sentenced to prison: 10 years, 18 years and more. I think this is unfair. “It is a two-tiered judicial system, and it is time to end it.”
More than 1,250 people have pleaded guilty or been convicted following trials related to January 6, and more than 650 have been sentenced to prison terms ranging from a few days to 22 years.
Many of those who stormed the Capitol were echoing Trump’s false claims about election fraud. Some of the rioters threatened the names of prominent politicians — especially then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and then-Vice President Mike Pence, who declined to try to object to Biden’s win. Lawmakers who vacated both chambers on January 6 returned that night to finish their work.
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Police officers who defended the Capitol are particularly angry about a potential pardon. Several officers were beaten, some with their own weapons, as they tried to repel the mob. Matthew Graves, the outgoing US attorney in the nation’s capital, said about 140 officers were injured on January 6, making it “probably the largest single-day mass assault on law enforcement” in American history.
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“You cannot be a pro-rule of law police officer if you pardon people who betrayed that trust, injured police officers, and ransacked the Capitol,” said Capitol Police Sgt. Aquilino Gonell, who retired from his injuries after fighting the rioters.
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Some Republicans in Congress, even those closely associated with Trump, have suggested that not all Jan. 6 violators should be treated the same way.
Rep. Jim Jordan, a top Trump ally who leads the House Judiciary Committee, said he supported some pardons, but he also discriminated.
“For people who haven’t committed any violent acts, I think everyone supports that. I think that makes sense,” said Jordan, the Ohio Republican.
Veteran Rep. Gus Bilirakis, R-Fla., was also not willing to go any further than Greene. “You have to look at it individually. Maybe some people deserve a pardon.”
But he was more reserved when asked whether those who attacked US Capitol Police officers should be pardoned.
“Oh my God. Again, I have to look at the scenario,” he said. “But if they attack the US Capitol Police, that’s a big problem.”
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Rep. Dusty Johnson, RD, said not all charges are the same and that people who trespass are a different category than those who entered the Capitol and damaged property. He said he believes Trump will look at each individual circumstance and decide what is appropriate.
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“You people who attacked police officers, listen, I don’t think this is something we should ever condone,” Johnson said.
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House Democrats, who led the campaign to impeach Trump on January 6 and conducted a wide-ranging investigation into the attack, warned that a pardon could have far-reaching consequences, both for the rule of law and the country’s security. For example, members of the extremist groups Oath Keepers and Proud Boys have been convicted of seditious conspiracy and other crimes related to the insurrection.
“These 140 law enforcement personnel who were harmed defending this institution, I think anyone who loves peace and security would be offended by a pardon for the people who attacked these individuals for doing their job,” said Democratic Rep. Bennie Thompson. .
Thompson led the House committee that investigated the events surrounding Jan. 6, concluding with a report that said Trump “lit the fire” for the insurrection.
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Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., who served as lead impeachment manager during Trump’s second impeachment trial in which he was acquitted, said if a pardon is going to happen, people should demand remorse and repentance from all those pardoned and a positive statement that they pose no threat. Another for public safety.
“Because anything that happens to these people, in a political context or any other context, will essentially be placed on the doorstep of the next president, Donald Trump,” Raskin said.
Like the police officers who protected them, the lawmakers who were in the Capitol during the attack had a gut reaction to talk of a pardon, barely escaping the mob that seemed determined to do them harm.
Rep. Jim Himes, D-Conn., who was trapped in the House chamber when rioters tried to storm below, said it would be “very difficult” for him and many others if Trump goes ahead with a pardon.
“I’m very disciplined and disciplined, but this is going to be really tough,” Hymes said. “Many of us have had very personal experiences with people serving prison sentences or who have been convicted.”