Washington DC [US], January 6 (ANI): Four years after the January 6 Capitol riots, attention has turned to the possibility that President-elect Donald Trump may issue pardons to many of the more than 1,500 individuals charged in connection with the attack, NBC News reported.
The inauguration of Trump as US President is scheduled to take place on January 20.
In an interview, Trump had pledged to prioritise relief for his supporters on his first day in office, criticising their treatment within what he described as a “corrupt” justice system and vowing quick action. Although, Trump hinted at exceptions for those he deemed “radical” or “crazy.”
In an exclusive interview with NBC News’ “Meet the Press,” Trump said that on his first day in office, he will bring legal relief to the January 6 rioters who he said have been put through a “very nasty system.”
“I’m going to be acting very quickly. First day. They have been in there for years, and they’re in a filthy, disgusting place that shouldn’t even be allowed to be open,” Trump added.
Trump further said that there “may be some exceptions” to his pardons “if somebody was radical, crazy.”
On being asked about over 900 other people who had pleaded guilty in connection to the attack but weren’t accused of assaulting officers, Trump said, “I know the system. The system’s a very corrupt system. They say to a guy, ‘You’re going to go to jail for two years or for 30 years.’ And these guys are looking, their whole lives have been destroyed. For two years, they have been destroyed. But the system is a very nasty system,” NBC News reported.
During his campaign events last year, Trump had frequently brought up the events of January 6, and denounced the 2020 elections that he lost.
While addressing a rally in March 2024 near Ohio’s Dayton, he had announced to issue pardons for Trump supporting ‘hostages’ on the first day of his presidency. Referring to the people imprisoned in connection with the January 6 Capitol riots as hostages, Trump, in his opening remarks had said, “You see the spirit from the hostages. And that’s what they are — hostages.”
In a post on social media platform Truth Social, Trump in March 2024 wrote, “”My first acts as your next President will be to Close the Border, DRILL, BABY, DRILL, and Free the January 6 Hostages being wrongfully imprisoned!”
Notably, over 1,350 people were charged in nearly all 50 US States for crimes related to the breach of the US Capitol, according to the US Department of Justice, after rioters stormed the building to protest former President Trump’s election loss and the validity of Biden’s win.
Of those, at least 560 defendants received sentences while at least 335 were sentenced to periods of incarceration, the DOJ had said. (ANI)
