Riot revisited: Trump’s plan to pardon Jan. 6 defendants
By
Ashley Oliver
April 17, 2024 6:00 am
More than three years after the riot at the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, the Department of Justice is continuing to pursue those who participated through hundreds of aggressive prosecutions. That includes Donald Trump, whose political future and personal freedom may depend on whether a jury believes he is to blame for the violence. But the intensity of the Biden DOJ’s crackdown on Jan. 6 offenders has stirred controversy, drawn scrutiny from the Supreme Court in Fischer v. United States, and become a central focus of Trump’s third presidential campaign. In this series, Riot revisited: Jan. 6, Justice, and Capitol Consequences, the Washington Examiner will look at the legal weaknesses in the DOJ’s efforts to punish Jan. 6 rioters and the future of those cases should Trump reclaim the White House.Former President Donald Trump has adopted as a centerpiece of his presidential campaign a promise that he will help defendants involved in the Jan. 6 Capitol riot if he is elected in November.
Trump has said he will undo the work of President Joe Biden’s Department of Justice, which has prosecuted nearly 1,500 people in connection to the riot, by vindicating those who have faced charges.
The former president’s habit of showing such sympathy and support for the defendants has drawn the gamut of reactions: praise, skepticism, fury. Some agree with Trump that the DOJ has unfairly punished the defendants, while others say Trump is disregarding evidence and that his rhetoric on the matter is insulting.
Here is a look at Trump’s promises and how he could execute them.
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https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/justice/2968247/riot-revisited-trumps-pardon-jan-6-defendants/
