WASHINGTON, D.C. – The newly sworn-in U.S. President Donald Trump granted pardons or commutations to more than 1,500 individuals convicted or charged in connection with the January 6, 2021, Capitol riot.
This clemency came just hours after Trump was inaugurated as the 47th president of the United States.
Among those receiving commutations were 14 members of the far-right groups Proud Boys and Oath Keepers, including high-profile figures such as Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes and former Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio.
Promises Made, Promises Kept… And we are only just starting 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸 President Trump has just signed an executive order granting full pardons to about 1,500 J6 prisoners!
Trump also signed an order directing the Department of Justice to drop all pending cases related to the riot.
During a signing ceremony in the Oval Office, Trump displayed the list of names of those pardoned, describing them as “hostages.”
He emphasized, “These are the hostages, approximately 1,500 for a pardon, full pardon. This is a big one.”
He further lamented, “These people have been destroyed. What they’ve done to these people is outrageous. There’s rarely been anything like it in the history of our country.”
The proclamation characterized the mass pardon as a step toward national reconciliation, claiming it ended a “grave national injustice.”
The 14 commutations, which will release the recipients but leave their convictions intact, include Rhodes, who was serving an 18-year sentence for his role in orchestrating the riot.
Tarrio, sentenced to 22 years for seditious conspiracy, is also set to be freed, although he was not physically present at the Capitol during the riot.
Trump issued a blanket “full, complete and unconditional pardon” to all others involved in the riot, a move condemned by Democrats and some law enforcement officials.
Democrats, including former Speaker Nancy Pelosi, denounced the mass pardons as an affront to the justice system and law enforcement officers who defended the Capitol on January 6, 2021.
Pelosi called it “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.”
Tonight, the President announced pardons and commutations of sentences for those who violently attacked the Capitol and law enforcement officers on January 6th. The President’s actions are an outrageous insult to our justice system and the heroes who suffered physical scars and…
Senator Patty Murray described the day as a “sad day for America,” accusing Trump of trying to “paper over the history and reality of that dark day.”
The pardons have reignited deep political divisions, with supporters of the defendants celebrating outside detention facilities, anticipating the release of their loved ones.
Meanwhile, critics warn that the move undermines the rule of law and the accountability of those who sought to overturn a democratic election.
