Vice President-elect JD Vance said that the people responsible for the violence seen during the January 6, 2021 riot on Capitol Hill “obviously” should not be pardoned. His statements, of course, are causing discussion, given also the words issued over the past few months by Donald Trump, who has repeatedly referred to the Capitol Hill attackers as “patriots.”
Trump also explained that he would use his power to pardon those convicted of trying to overturn the results of the 2020 election, which Joe Biden won. Vance, for his part, said in an interview with “Fox News Sunday” that the issue is very simple, saying that those who peacefully protested should be pardoned, unlike those people who were involved in attacks and violent incidents.
The vice president also stressed the existence of a gray area, concerning other cases. More than 1,500 people were charged with federal crimes for the Capitol Hill siege. The attack injured more than 100 law enforcement officers, and forced lawmakers into to seek safe haven as they were about to certify Biden’s victory.
Hundreds of people who were present that day were only charged with misdemeanors for illegally entering the Capitol. Others, however, were charged with serious crimes, including assault on police officers. Leaders of the extremist groups Oath Keepers and Proud Boys were convicted of seditious conspiracy.
Despite this, Donald Trump has repeatedly defended the actions of the rioters, saying he would grant them a pardon from his first day in the White House. “Those people have suffered long and hard”, said the president-elect, who will make his return to Washington on Jan. 20.
After the statements made to Fox News, however, Vance was pelted with numerous criticisms on X. The vice president-elect then responded on the same platform explaining: “I’ve been defending these guys for years. The president saying he’ll look at each case (and me saying the same) is not some walkback. I assure you, we care about people unjustly locked up.”
