He followed through on pledges to take a case-by-case look at Jan. 6 protesters, who had gathered in Washington to protest the 2020 election certification.
WASHINGTON—President Donald Trump has followed through on his vows to move swiftly in pardoning almost all of those charged in connection with the Jan. 6, 2021, demonstrations at the U.S. Capitol—a group he referred to as “J6 hostages.”
After leaving the Capital One Arena late on Jan. 20, he went back to the Oval Office and pardoned roughly 1,500 individuals involved in the breach while commuting sentences of individuals still serving time.
Trump had reiterated his pledges at the Capitol earlier in the day soon after his inauguration.
“You’re going to see a lot of action on the J6 hostages,” the president said.
In a December interview with Time Magazine, Trump said he would examine the Jan. 6 participants’ cases “on a case-by-case basis,” starting during the first hour of his presidency.
“If they were non-violent, I think they’ve been greatly punished,” he said. “They’ve suffered greatly, and in many cases, they should not have suffered.”
During a recent Fox News Sunday interview, Vice President-elect JD Vance said those who were violent on Jan. 6 “shouldn’t be pardoned.”
This is a developing story and will be updated.
Emel Akan and TJ Muscaro contributed reporting to this story.