On his first day back in office, President Donald Trump pardoned over 1,500 people charged for their part in the January 6, 2021, Capitol riot.
The riot was sparked by efforts to overturn the 2020 election. In addition to the pardons, Trump dropped all pending cases against the defendants.
Among the pardoned was Enrique Tarrio, former head of the Proud Boys, who was serving a 22-year sentence for leading a military style attack on the Capitol.
Stewart Rhodes, leader of the Oath Keepers, had his 18-year sentence for seditious conspiracy reduced to time served.
Trump called these people “hostages” and gave them “full pardons” at the White House.
During the campaign Trump had promised to pardon “patriots” and “political prisoners”. He kept his word. He called January 6 a “day of love” despite over 140 police being injured.
Rioters used flagpoles, bats and other weapons for hours against the police.
The Capitol attack was sparked by a speech Trump gave to thousands of his supporters near the White House.
In it, he repeated false claims of election fraud and told the crowd to march on Congress to stop the certification of Joe Biden’s win.
Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has slammed Trump’s action, calling the pardons “an outrage to our justice system” and to the police who defended the Capitol.
She said it’s a betrayal of law enforcement’s duty to protect the peaceful transfer of power.
Despite the backlash Trump’s pardons included orders for the immediate release of those still in jail. Among them were nine (9) Oath Keepers and five (5) Proud Boys whose sentences were commuted.
Meanwhile President Joe Biden issued his own pardons. In a move seen as a heads up, he pardoned people like former Covid advisor Anthony Fauci and retired General Mark Milley so they wouldn’t be prosecuted the Trump administration.
He also pardoned his own family members and political allies because of “unrelenting attacks and threats” against them for partisan reasons.
Biden’s pardons, issued in the final minutes of his presidency, included family members like his brother James and sister Valerie and their spouses.
Biden defended his actions saying, “These are politically motivated and I see no end to them.”
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