Trump could pardon nearly 1600 January 6 rioters. Will he really do it?
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Trump has suggested he might even pardon those who attacked police officers. Donald Trump has said pardoning his supporters who took part in the January 6, 2021, insurrection at the U.S. Capitol four years ago will be one of the top priorities as he starts his new administration.
But how quickly will the pardons begin, and how far will Trump go?. Nearly 1,600 people have been charged with or convicted of crimes linked to the riot, according to the Department of Justice. That group includes at least 11 people who brought guns to the Capitol, 379 who were charged with assaulting police or journalists, and 13 leaders of far-right militias like the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers convicted of seditious conspiracy.
The rioters brought weapons including guns, chemical spray, axes, tasers, baseball bats, and even a sword to the Capitol, where three people died during the riot and four police officers later died by suicide after fending off the insurrectionists. Trump has suggested in recent weeks he could begin pardons his first day in office, and may erase the federal charges of every single person involved.
Though the riot was years ago, it remains a contentious part of the ongoing political discussion. “On #ThisDayInHistory in 2021, thousands of peaceful grandmothers gathered in Washington, D.C., to take a self-guided, albeit unauthorized, tour of the U.S. Capitol building,” Rep. Mike Collins insisted in a post on X Monday, despite what millions of Americans witnessed on live TV coverage.
