On his first day back in office, President Donald Trump issued roughly 1,500 pardons and commuted the sentences of 14 people convicted in connection with riot on January 6th 2021 at the U.S. Capitol. On that day, thousands of Trump supporters attempted to take over the building in order to stop the certification of the 2020 presidential election results, seeking to install Trump as president despite his loss to Joe Biden.
After his election loss in 2020, Trump attempted to overturn the election results through the legal means, bringing over 60 cases to court across the country alleging all manner of election fraud. In every single case, however, his claims were found to be without merit. Trump’s supporters continued spreading false claims of a rigged election, eventually coalescing into what became known as the “Stop the Steal” movement and attempting an insurrection on January 6th. Four law enforcement officers were killed as they attempted to protect elected officials from the violent armed mob made up of thousands of Trump supporters.
Among those whose sentences President Trump commuted today were members of the Oath Keepers and the Proud Boys who had been found guilty of seditious conspiracy for organizing the attack, having received sentences of over 10 years. Both groups were widely known to be far-right militias with a penchant for political violence prior to the election in November 2020. When Trump was asked if he condemned the Proud Boys’ and rejected their support in a presidential debate in October, he refused to do either, telling them instead to “stand back and stand by.”
Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio, who was sentenced to 17 years for his role in the organizing of Jan. 6, told his followers on social media that day to “Do what must be done.” During his trial, prosecutors showed evidence that Tarrio and Proud Boys lieutenants had laid plans to take over government buildings with large crowds, dubbing the U.S. Capitol “The Winter Palace” – a reference to the violent overthrow of Czarist Russia. Oath Keeper leader Stewart Rhodes, who had organized the stashing of weapons just outside the Capitol on Jan. 6 as part of a “Quick Reaction Force,” was sentenced to 18 years. His fellow leader in the organization, Kelly Meggs, led the physical charge into the U.S. Capitol chamber, and was sentenced to 12 years. All three are now free men, along with eleven other organizers of the attack.
Trump’s order today also called for “a full, complete and unconditional pardon to all other individuals convicted of offenses related to events that occurred at or near the United States Capitol on January 6, 2021.” Some 1,500 people had been charged for their actions on that day, with around 1,100 of them having been sentenced so far. According to the Department of Justice, 174 rioters were convicted of using a deadly and dangerous weapon, and 180 were charged with entering the Capitol armed. Trump’s supporters stormed the building on Jan. 6 with guns and tasers, as well as an assortment of melee weapons like hatchets, swords, knives, flagpoles and makeshift weapons.
“These are the hostages,” President Trump said as he signed the executive order today, employing a term he used with increasing frequency as the 2024 election drew nearer. “We hope they come out tonight, frankly.”
