Washington On his first day back in office, President Donald Trump used his clemency powers to reverse the massive prosecution of the historic attack on the seat of American democracy by pardoning, commuting the prison sentences, or vowing to dismiss the cases of all 1,500+ people charged with crimes in the Jan. 6, 2021, U.S. Capitol riot, including those convicted of assaulting police officers.
Trump’s move, which came just hours after he returned to the White House on Monday, opens the door for the release of those convicted of violent attacks on police officers and far-right extremist leaders convicted of failed schemes to keep the Republican in power after he lost to Democrat Joe Biden in the 2020 presidential election.
According to a Justice Department database that was still accessible on Tuesday, at least 85 Texans and at least 18 Houston-area residents had been detained, charged, and/or found guilty of crimes connected to their roles in the disturbance. One of them is Andrew Taake, a Houston resident who admitted guilt to assaulting officers with bear spray and a whip-like weapon and was given a six-year jail sentence in June.
The pardons are the result of Trump’s years-long effort to change the course of events surrounding the Jan. 6 attack, which injured over 100 police officers as the irate crowd of Trump supporters, some of whom were carrying bats, poles, and bear spray, overpowered law enforcement, broke windows, and drove lawmakers and aides into hiding. The pace and extent of the clemency amounted to a startling shredding of the Justice Department’s effort to hold participants accountable over what has been called one of the darkest days in the nation’s history, even though pardons were anticipated.
Additionally, Trump directed the attorney general to request the dismissal of approximately 450 cases that are currently pending before judges as a result of the greatest investigation in the history of the Justice Department.
Trump has accused the Justice Department of treating the rioters unfairly by labeling them “patriots” and “hostages,” and he has also been charged with federal crimes in two cases that he believes were motivated by politics. The pardons will put an end to “a grave national injustice that has been perpetrated upon the American people over the last four years and begin a process of national reconciliation.”
Trump supporters and attorneys for the Jan. 6 defendants were ecstatic by the pardons. Outside the Washington jail, where over a dozen defendants were being kept pending the pardons, Trump fans gathered in the bitter cold late Monday.
James Lee Bright, a lawyer representing Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes, who was serving an 18-year prison sentence after being found guilty of seditious conspiracy and other offenses, said, “We are deeply thankful for President Trump for his actions today.”
By Tuesday, Rhodes was out of prison, as was Enrique Tarrio, the former national chairman of the Proud Boys who was given a 22-year term for seditious plotting.
In a statement, Tarrio lawyer Nayib Hassan said, “This represents a turning point for our country and a pivotal moment in our client’s life.” “As we close this chapter and welcome fresh chances and possibilities, we are hopeful about the future.
The decision to provide pardons to violent protesters, many of whose offenses were caught on camera and aired live on television, was criticized by Democrats. It is “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,” according to former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
In an emailed statement, Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer said that Donald Trump was bringing in a Golden Age for lawbreakers and those who sought to topple the government.
After being stunned by a rioter with a stun gun, former Metropolitan Police Officer Michael Fanone lost consciousness and suffered a heart attack. He seemed surprised to hear from an Associated Press reporter that those who attacked police officers are among those who received pardons.
“This is what the American people voted for,” he stated. “How do you react to something like that?”
Fanone claimed that he has been concerned for his family’s safety and well-being for the last four years. He claimed that forgiving his attackers would just make his worries worse.
“I think they’re cowards,” he declared. “The mob mentality and their sheer numbers were their strongest points. And they are who they are as individuals.
In the weeks preceding his return to the White House, Trump had indicated that he would consider the Jan. 6 defendants individually rather than pardoning them all at once. Additionally, just a few days earlier, Vice President JD Vance stated that those who were “obviously” involved for the violence during the Capitol riot should not be pardoned.
While the remaining convicts found guilty of Jan. 6 offenses received “full, complete and unconditional” pardons, the sentences of 14 defendants—including several convicted of seditious conspiracy—were shortened.
The Justice Department dropped its two federal criminal proceedings against Trump, citing its policy against prosecuting sitting presidents, weeks prior to the pardons. In a desperate attempt to hold onto power, Trump may have been charged with plotting to overturn his 2020 election defeat in the same federal courthouse in Washington, D.C., if he had lost the 2024 election.
Over the past four years, more than 1,200 people have been found guilty of Jan. 6 offenses in the United States, including over 200 who entered guilty pleas to attacking law enforcement.
Misdemeanor trespassing charges were brought against hundreds of Jan. 6 defendants who did not participate in any of the violence and devastation; many of them received little to no jail time.
However, the courthouse, which is visible from the Capitol, contains a wealth of film, testimony, and other material that documents the violence that day.
Police officers were battered after being pulled into the mob. Rioters attacked police with improvised weapons, such as hockey sticks, crutches, and flagpoles. Along with knives, a pitchfork, a tomahawk ax, brass knuckle gloves, and other weapons, investigators found several firearms in the crowd. As members of the mob threw insults and profanities at them, officers have testified that they were afraid for their lives.
About 250 of the more than 1,500 defendants were found guilty of crimes by a judge or jury following a trial, while over 1,000 more entered guilty pleas. Following bench trials, judges cleared only two defendants of all charges. No defendant in a Capitol riot has ever been found not guilty by a jury.
Over 700 of the more than 1,000 rioters who received sentences had at least some jail time. Probation, community service, home detention, or penalties were imposed on the remaining individuals.
Adam Zuvanich of Houston Public Media helped with this report.
