Trump's pardons give the defendants since January 6 almost everything they want

Until Monday, even some in Donald Trump's team did not seem to believe that he would release all those arrested after the riots at the US Capitol on January 6, 2021.

“If you committed violence on this day, obviously you should not be pardoned,” Vice President JD Vance said a little over a week ago.

A few days later, testifying before Congress, Trump's nominee for attorney general, Pam Bondi, agreed with a Democratic senator who asked her to condemn the violence of that day.

“I don't agree with violence against any police officer,” she said, adding that she was prepared to review each of the more than 1,500 riot-related cases individually.

Trump, however, took a much broader approach to the cases on his first day in office.

He issued a handful of commutations and a blanket pardon that effectively freed all the rebels and wiped out the work of the largest criminal investigation in US history.

His executive order on Monday gave the rebels and their supporters almost everything they had pleaded for, except for the monetary compensation from the government that some prison groups had demanded.

“These people were destroyed,” Trump said after signing the order. “What they did to these people is outrageous. There has rarely been anything like this in the history of our country.

There were celebratory scenes outside the Washington prison where a number of those arrested for the riot were being held, as well as on social media accounts run by the defendants and their supporters.

The mother of “Proud Boys” leader Enrique Tario, who was released on Tuesdayposts regular updates about his son.

“Our president brought my son and all J6ers back to life!” Zuny Tarrio wrote after learning he would be released from his 22-year sentence. “They can live again! Breathe fresh air again! Feel the sun again!”

One of those released Tuesday from a Washington prison was Rachel Powell of Pennsylvania, who was sentenced to more than four years in prison after smashing a Capitol window with an ice ax.

Speaking outside the prison, she told the BBC she would now be home in time for her son's birthday and praised Trump for keeping his promise. “He is a greater blessing to me than I can imagine,” she said.

Some observers, including political experts and lawyers representing the rebels, were surprised by the scope of the president's order.

“The general consensus was that we would see a distinction between those who committed violent acts and those who did not,” said Lisa Gilbert, co-president of Public Citizen, a progressive nonprofit group that opposed the pardons. .

“Donald Trump ran for office because of law and order, so it's shocking and upsetting to see him take action to pardon violent criminals,” she said.

Fourteen people convicted of some of the most serious crimes had their sentences commuted – meaning their crimes will remain on the record, but they will still be released from prison.

The Justice Department said in its latest update that approximately 1,583 people had been arrested or convicted of riot-related crimes.

More than 600 were charged with assaulting, resisting or obstructing police, including about 175 accused of using a weapon or causing serious injury to an officer.

Most of those convicted have served their sentences or received no sentence at all, but about 250 who are still in prison have begun to be released.

And it appears that all further investigations – the FBI was still looking for at least 13 suspects and fugitives – will be put on hold.

Underscoring the decisive finality of his move, Trump appointed Ed Martin as acting U.S. attorney in Washington, a prosecutor's role that has been primarily responsible for prosecuting riot cases.

Martin organized a rally in support of Trump the day before the riot and has been a vocal critic of the entire investigation.

During his campaign, Trump made various statements about the insurgents, at times promising blanket pardons but at times indicating that he might be inclined to keep some of them behind bars.

Rebel supporters welcomed his full pardon on Monday and have long described the sentences handed down to people they call “J6 hostages” and “political prisoners” as politically motivated and harsh.

Norm Pattis, a lawyer who defended some of the prisoners, told BBC Newshour that “the notion that somehow this event threatened the republic is overblown,” adding that Confederate rebels were pardoned after the Civil War.

“If we could come together as a country after such a violent act and after people openly took up arms and killed each other … why were we still prosecuting people for criminal trespass four years later after an afternoon of rioting?” he said.

However, polls show that a general pardon, including for those convicted of violence, is unpopular. Recent Associated Press survey indicated that only two in ten Americans approve of pardoning most of those involved.

Winston Pingeon, a Capitol Police officer who was hit and pepper-sprayed that day, told the Newshour that the pardons were a “slap in the face.”

“It's truly an unprecedented thing to know that these violent criminals who were convicted by a jury of their peers for crimes that were largely broadcast for the entire country and the world to see will be walking free,” he said. .

In his executive order, Trump explained why he chose to commute the 14 convicts instead of offering them a full pardon. The list includes members of the far-right militias Proud Boys and Oath Keepers. Oath Keepers leader Stuart Rhodes was on the list and was released in the early hours of Tuesday, his lawyer said.

Rhodes, a former US Army paratrooper and Yale-educated lawyer, led the Oath Keepers in Washington in the days leading up to the rebellion. The group hid weapons in a hotel room across the Potomac River in Virginia, according to trial evidence. Rhodes did not enter the Capitol, but led his members from outside and was convicted in 2023. 18 years in prison.

Rhodes' lawyer, James Lee Bright, told the BBC that even those close to the cases had been surprised by the broad nature of the clemency action and the speed with which prisoners were released.

“Despite our relationship with people who are close to the president, they were extremely low-key” before the executive order, Bright said.

Tario, the former leader of the Proud Boys, was granted a full pardon, although five other members of his group were on the replacement list. Tario was not among the crowd that day as he was forbidden to enter the city. Instead, he socialized with fellow Proud Boys from a hotel in nearby Baltimore.

After Rhodes' arrest, the Oath Keepers all but ceased operations, while the Proud Boys focused on local protests, particularly against transgender activists and drag history hours. The latter group was also plagued by infighting between established members and splinter groups pushing explicitly white nationalist ideas.

Wendy Via, CEO and co-founder of the Global Project Against Hate and Extremism, said newly freed militia members may try to resume their activities, putting far-right groups that have largely disbanded back into the spotlight.

On Monday, dozens of proud boys were seen marching through Washington to celebrate the inauguration.

“Will the proud boys start trying to centralize the organization again like they did in 2021? This is going to be a big question,” Ms Viya said.

“The effect of these pardons is that Trump has sent a message that violence is a viable tool for change as long as it is on his side,” she added.

With additional reporting by Regan Morris and Emma Vardy