President Donald Trump pardoned, commuted, or pledged to dismiss the cases of all people charged with assaulting police officers, including people convicted of assaulting police officers, using his pardon. On his first day back in office to roll back the widespread prosecution of the unprecedented attack on the seat of American democracy.
Trump’s action, just hours after his return to the White House on Monday, paves the way for the release of people convicted of violent attacks on police, as well as leaders of far-right groups convicted of failed plots to maintain power. A Republican is in power after losing the 2020 presidential election to Democrat Joe Biden.
The pardon is the culmination of Trump’s years-long campaign to rewrite the history of the Jan. 6 attack, which left more than 100 police officers injured when an angry mob of Trump supporters — some armed with poles, bats and bear spray — overwhelmed law enforcement. It smashed windows and forced lawmakers and aides to hide. While the pardon was expected, the speed and scope of the pardon was a stunning dismantling of the Justice Department’s efforts to hold accountable those involved in what has been described as one of the darkest days in the country’s history.
Trump also ordered the attorney general to seek the dismissal of nearly 450 cases pending before judges stemming from the largest investigation in the history of the Department of Justice.
Trump called the rioters “patriots” and “hostages” and claimed they were treated unfairly by the Justice Department, which also charged him with federal crimes in two cases he said were politically motivated. Trump said the pardon would end “the grave national injustice committed against the American people over the past four years” and begin a “process of national reconciliation.”
The pardon was met with jubilation from Trump supporters and lawyers for the defendants on January 6. Trump supporters gathered late Monday in the cold outside the Washington prison, where more than a dozen defendants were being held before the pardon.
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“We are deeply grateful to President Trump for his actions today,” said James Lee Bright, an attorney who represented Oath Keepers founder Stuart Rhodes, who was serving an 18-year prison sentence after being convicted of seditious conspiracy and other crimes.
It is unclear how quickly the defendants will be released from prison. A lawyer for Enrique Tarrio, the former national president of the Proud Boys who was sentenced to 22 years in prison for seditious conspiracy, said he expects his client to be released from prison Monday night.
Lawyer Nayeb Hassan said in a statement: “This is a pivotal moment in our client’s life, and symbolizes a turning point for our nation.” “We are optimistic about the future, as we now turn the page on this chapter and embrace new possibilities and opportunities.”
Democrats criticized the move to extend amnesty to violent rioters, many of whose crimes were caught on camera and broadcast live. Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi called it “an outrageous insult to our judicial system and the heroes who suffered physical scars and emotional trauma while protecting the Capitol, Congress, and the Constitution.”
“Donald Trump is ushering in a golden age for people who break the law and try to overthrow the government,” Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer said in an emailed statement.
Former D.C. Police Officer Michael Fanone, who was knocked unconscious and had a heart attack after a rioter shocked him with a stun gun, seemed surprised to learn from an Associated Press reporter that those who assaulted police officers were among the beneficiaries of the pardon.
He added: “This is what the American people voted for.” “How do you react to something like this?”
Fanone said he has spent the past four years worrying about his safety and the well-being of his family. He added that pardoning his attackers would only exacerbate his fears.
“I think they are cowards,” he said. “Their strength was in their numbers and mob mentality. As individuals, they are who they are.”
Trump had suggested in the weeks before his return to the White House that instead of a blanket pardon, he would consider those charged on January 6 on a case-by-case basis. Vice President J.D. Vance had said just days earlier that it was “clear” that people responsible for violence during the Capitol riot should not be pardoned.
Fourteen defendants, including several convicted of seditious conspiracy, had their sentences commuted, while the rest of those convicted of the January 6 crimes were granted a “full, complete and unconditional” pardon.
The pardon comes weeks after the Justice Department dropped the two federal criminal cases against Trump, citing its policy against prosecuting sitting presidents. Had Trump lost the 2024 election, he may have eventually been tried on charges in the same federal court in Washington in the case that accused him of conspiring to overturn his 2020 election loss in a desperate attempt to cling to power.
More than 1,200 people across the United States have been convicted of the Jan. 6 crimes over the past four years, including nearly 200 people who have pleaded guilty to assaulting law enforcement.
Hundreds of those charged on January 6 who were not involved in any of the violence and destruction were charged with misdemeanor trespassing, and many of them spent little time behind bars.
But the violence that day has been extensively documented by videos, testimony and other evidence viewed by judges and jurors in the courtroom located within sight of the Capitol.
The police were dragged into the crowd and beaten. Rioters used improvised weapons to attack police, including flagpoles, crutches and a hockey stick. Investigators documented the presence of a number of firearms in the crowd, along with knives, pitchforks, a tomahawk, brass knuckle gloves, and other weapons. In their testimony, the officers described 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 were found guilty of crimes by a judge or jury after trial, while more than 1,000 others pleaded guilty to the crimes. Only two people were acquitted of all charges by judges after rudimentary trials. No jury has fully acquitted the defendant in the Capitol riot.
More than 1,000 rioters were sentenced, with more than 700 receiving at least some time behind bars. The rest received a combination of probation, community service, home confinement or fines.
