President Donald Trump on Monday pardoned or commuted the prison sentences of all of the 1,500-plus people charged with crimes in the January 6 2021, US Capitol riot.
Pardons included people convicted of seditious conspiracy and assaulting police officers, with the President using his clemency powers on his first day back in office to undo the massive prosecution of the unprecedented assault on the seat of American democracy.
Mr Trump’s action, just hours after his return to the White House, paves the way for the release from prison of dozens of people found guilty of violent attacks on police, as well as leaders of far-right extremist groups convicted of plotting to stop the peaceful transfer of power after Mr Trump lost the 2020 election to former president Joe Biden.
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 county’s history.
In addition to the pardons, Mr Trump ordered the Attorney General to seek the dismissal of roughly 450 cases that are still pending before judges stemming from the largest investigation in Justice Department history.
Casting the rioters as “patriots” and “hostages,” Mr Trump has claimed they were unfairly treated by the Justice Department that also charged him with federal crimes in two cases he contends were politically motivated.
Mr Trump said the pardons would 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.”
Mr Trump’s order was met with celebration by supporters and lawyers of the January 6 defendants, some of whom were sentenced to more than a decade behind bars.
“We are deeply thankful for President Mr Trump for his actions today,” said James Lee Bright, a lawyer 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 those who are serving prison sentences may be released. A lawyer 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 on Monday night.
“This marks a pivotal moment in our client’s life, and it symbolizes a turning point for our nation,” lawyer 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.
“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.
Former Metropolitan Police Officer Michael Fanone, who lost consciousness and suffered a heart attack after a rioter shocked him with a stun gun, appeared shocked to learn from an Associated Press reporter that those who assaulted police officers are among the pardon recipients.
“This is what the American people voted for,” he said. “How do you react to something like that?”
Mr Fanone said he has spent the past four years worried about his safety and the well-being of his family.
Pardoning his assailants only compounds his fears, he said.
“I think they’re cowards,” he said.
“Their strength was in their numbers and the mob mentality. And as individuals, they are who they are.”
Mr Trump had suggested in the weeks leading up to his return to the White House that instead of blanket pardons, he would look at the January 6 rioters on a case-by-case basis.
Vice President JD Vance said just days ago that people responsible for the violence during the Capitol riot “obviously” should not be pardoned.
The pardons come weeks after the Justice Department abandoned its two federal criminal cases against Mr Trump, citing its policy against prosecuting sitting presidents.
Had Mr Trump lost the 2024 election, he may have ultimately stood trial on charges in his 2020 election interference case in the same federal courthouse in Washington where more than 1,200 of his supporters were convicted of January 6 crimes over the last four years.
Hundreds of January 6 defendants who did not engage in any of the violence and destruction were charged with misdemeanour trespassing offences, 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 seen by judges and jurors in the courthouse within view of the Capitol.
Police were dragged into the crowd and beaten.
Investigators documented several firearms in the crowd, along with knives, a pitchfork, a tomahawk axe, brass knuckle gloves and other weapons.
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 were convicted of crimes by a judge or a jury after a trial, while more than 1,000 others had pleaded guilty to offences. 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.
