Donald Trump supporters clash with police and security forces as they storm the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021 in Washington, D.C. (Photo by Brent Stirton/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump on Monday night issued sweeping pardons for nearly all Jan. 6 defendants, erasing accountability for those who violently tried to stop the certification of the 2020 presidential election results on that date in 2021.
Behind the desk of the Oval Office, Trump told reporters he signed a pardon for nearly 1,500 defendants who participated in the attack and commuted the sentences for several others whose punishments require “further research,” he said.
“We hope they come out tonight. They’re expecting it,” Trump said about the defendants.
Journalists outside the D.C. Central Detention Facility, where many Jan. 6 defendants are being held, reported families began gathering there Monday in anticipation of the pardons.
The White House released the names of 14 defendants whose sentences Trump commuted. They include numerous right-wing militia leaders convicted of seditious conspiracy.
Among them are Stewart Rhodes of Texas and Kelly Meggs of Florida, the founder and current leader of the Oath Keepers, as well as members of the Proud Boys, including Joseph Biggs of Florida, Ethan Nordean of Washington, Zachary Rehl of Pennsylvania, and Dominic Pezzola of New York.
All remaining Jan. 6 defendants convicted of crimes related to the Capitol attack received a “full, complete and unconditional pardon,” according to the order.
Trump praised the defendants on the campaign trail as “hostages,” “patriots” and “warriors,” and pardoning them became a major theme of Trump’s rallies.
Former U.S. Capitol Police officer Harry Dunn said the pardons marked a “dark day in American history.”
“This decision is a betrayal to the officers who were severely injured — and died — as a result of the insurrection. This decision puts Americans at risk as these violent criminals return to their communities. These pardons are a reflection of what abuse of power looks like and what we the people are bound to witness over the next four years,” Dunn said in statement released by the anti-Trump group Courage for America.
The U.S. Department of Justice launched its largest-ever investigation following the attack that left over 140 police officers injured and upwards of $2.8 million in damage to the Capitol.
As of early January the department had charged just over 1,580 people for crimes related to the riot, 608 of whom were charged with assaulting, resisting or impeding law enforcement, including nearly a third who used a dangerous or deadly weapon, according to the department’s latest figures.
Weapons, and objects used as weapons, brought on the Capitol grounds ranged from firearms and tasers to chemical sprays and sharp-edged weapons, including knives, axes and even a sword, according to the department.
Approximately 1,000 have pleaded guilty — 682 to misdemeanors and 327 to felonies. Just over 200 defendants were found guilty at contested trials, including 10 who were convicted of seditious conspiracy.
Earlier Monday, Trump promised an overflow inauguration crowd in the Capitol Visitors Center that would deliver “action” for the Jan. 6 “hostages.”
He slammed Biden’s preemptive pardoning of the “unselect committee of political thugs,” referring to the former president’s Monday morning action for members and staff who served on the House select committee that probed the Jan. 6 Capitol attack.
Biden also preemptively pardoned police officers who testified before the committee. The officers have lambasted Trump’s promise to pardon the rioters.
Former U.S. Capitol Police Sgt. Aquilino Gonell, one of the officers to receive the pardon, said in a statement Monday that he “was just doing my job and fulfilling my oath” when “American citizens attacked the U.S. Capitol, injuring me and my colleagues.”
“Thank you President Biden for upholding our nation’s democracy, for your years of service to this country, and — in your final moments as Commander-in-Chief — issuing preemptive pardons for me and other loyal Americans. I did not seek a pardon, and I did nothing wrong. My family and I are grateful for your empathy and leadership.”