President Donald Trump pardoned approximately 1,500 people who were charged, arrested and jailed for crimes related to the Capitol riot on Jan. 6, 2021. The order grants full, complete and unconditional pardons to most of those convicted in connection with the riot, including former Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio, who had been sentenced to 22 years in prison for seditious conspiracy.
The executive action also called for the Department of Justice to cease pending prosecutions related to the events of Jan. 6. Trump instructed the Bureau of Prisons to facilitate the immediate release of those covered by the pardon.
The Department of Justice had charged roughly 1,600 individuals in connection with the Capitol riot.
While most of them received pardons, 14 received commutations, a lesser form of clemency that allows for immediate release but leaves felony convictions on their records. One of those commuted was Stewart Rhodes, founder of the Oath Keepers.
The sweeping pardons align with Trump’s long-standing calls for the release of Jan. 6 prisoners, whom he has referred to as “hostages,” “patriots” and “victims of political persecution.”
Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi condemned the pardons, calling them “an outrageous insult to our justice system and the heroes who suffered physical scars and emotional trauma as they protected the Capitol, Congress, and the Constitution.”
A CBS poll released this month showed that 72% of Republicans and 41% of Democrats supported pardons for those involved in the Jan. 6 riot.
