Trump pardons give Jan 6 defendants nearly everything they wanted

Until Monday, even some of 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.

“When you commit violence that day, you obviously don’t deserve to be forgiven,” Vice President JD Vance said last week.

A few days later, testifying before Congress, Trump’s nominee for Attorney General Pam Bondi joined a Democratic senator who asked her to condemn the violence of the day.

“I don’t support violence against any police officer,” he said, adding that he was willing to personally look into more than 1,500 riot-related cases.

Trump, however, took a more aggressive approach to the charges on his first day in office.

He passed a series of reforms and a massive amnesty that freed all the perpetrators and ended the largest criminal investigation in US history.

His order on Monday gave the rebels and their supporters almost everything they have been asking for, short of the government compensation that other prisoner groups have demanded.

“These people are doomed,” Trump said after signing. “What they have done to these people is very bad. There has never been anything like this in the history of our country.”

There were celebrations outside the Washington DC prison where several people arrested for the riots are being held, and on social media accounts run by the accused and their supporters.

Mother of Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio, who was released on TuesdayShe has posted regular updates about her son.

“Our president gave my son and the J6ers their lives back!” Zuny Tarrio wrote after learning he would be released from his 22-year prison sentence. “He can live again! Breathe fresh air! Feel the sunshine again!”

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

Speaking outside prison, he told the BBC he would now be home in time for his son’s birthday and praised Mr Trump for keeping his promise. “He’s a bigger blessing to me than I thought,” he said.

Some observers, including experts and lawyers representing the riots, were shocked by the extent of the President’s order.

“The general consensus was that we would see a difference between those who committed violence and those who did not,” said Lisa Gilbert, president of Public Citizen, a progressive nonprofit group that opposes amnesty.

“Donald Trump ran for office on law and order, so it’s shocking and disappointing to see him take action to pardon violent criminals,” he said.

Fourteen people found guilty of the most serious crimes were commuted – meaning their crimes will be kept on the record, but they will be released from prison.

The Ministry of Justice, in its final statement, said that approximately 1,583 people were arrested or sentenced for crimes related to the riots.

More than 600 were charged with assaulting, resisting or obstructing police, including about 175 who were charged with using a weapon or seriously injuring an officer.

Most of those found guilty have completed their sentences, or have not served prison sentences, but about 250 who are still in prison have begun to be released.

And it appears that any further investigations — the FBI was looking into at least 13 suspects and fugitives — have been suspended.

Underscoring the end of the immigration process, Trump named Ed Martin as US attorney in Washington DC – a prosecutorial position that is primarily responsible for prosecuting riots.

Martin organized a pro-Trump rally the day before the shooting, and has been vocal in his opposition to the entire investigation.

On the campaign trail, Trump has made a number of comments about violent criminals, sometimes promising pardons but other times hinting at the possibility of jailing others.

Supporters of the riots welcomed his pardon on Monday, and have long described the sentences handed down to what they call the “J6 hostages” and “political prisoners” as political and cruel.

Norm Pattis, a lawyer who defended some of the prisoners, told the BBC Newshour that “the idea that this event is a threat to the Republic is gone”, adding that Confederate criminals were pardoned after the Civil War.

“If we were a country after such violence, and people openly taking up arms and killing each other… he said.

Polls, however, show a blanket amnesty including those convicted of violent crimes is unacceptable. A soon An Associated Press survey shows that only two out of ten Americans agree to forgive most of the victims.

Winston Pingeon, the Capitol police officer who was assaulted and pepper sprayed that day, told the Newshour that the pardon was a “slap in the face”.

“It is unprecedented to know that these violent criminals who were found guilty in a case that was widely televised both nationally and internationally are walking free,” he said.

In his keynote address, Trump explained why he chose to commute the 14 prisoners instead of pardoning them outright. The series features members of the right-wing militant group Proud Boys and Oath Keepers. Oath Keepers leader Stewart Rhodes was on the list, and was released early Tuesday, his lawyer said.

Rhodes, a former US Army paratrooper and Yale-educated lawyer, led the Oath Keepers to Washington days before the riots. The group hid guns in a hotel room across the Potomac River in Virginia, according to trial testimony. Rhodes did not enter the Capitol but directed his members from abroad, and was sentenced in 2023 to 18 years in prison.

Rhodes’ lawyer, James Lee Bright, told the BBC that even those close to the cases were surprised by the level of mercy and the speed with which the prisoners were treated.

“Even our relationship with people close to the president, they were very strong” in the eyes of the administration, Bright said.

Tarrio, the former leader of the Proud Boys, received a full pardon, although five other members of his band were on the replacement list. Tarrio was not in the crowd that day, having been banned from the city. Instead, he contacted the Proud Boys from a hotel near Baltimore.

After Rhodes’ arrest, the Oath Keepers resigned, while the Proud Boys focused on local protests, particularly against the opposition and pull story hours. The latter group also had conflicts between prominent members and splinter groups pushing white racial ideology.

Wendy Via, CEO and co-founder of the Global Project Against Hate and Extremism, said that newly released terrorists may try to continue their activities, targeting far-right groups that have lost focus.

On Monday many Proud Boys were seen marching around Washington to celebrate the inauguration.

“Will the Proud Boys start trying to re-establish the organization, as it was in 2021? That will be a big question,” said Ms Via.

“What comes out of these pardons is that Trump is sending a message that violence is a tool for change, as long as it’s on his side,” he said.

With additional reporting from Regan Morris and Emma Vardy