Up to 1,500 January 6 rioters are expected to be pardoned by Trump

The Capitol siege in 2021: prosecutors, prosecutor’s office, and the dodgy prosecution of a sitting president

Many convictions were wiped away when President Trump pardoned 1,500 defendants who took part in the Capitol siege four years ago.

The mass attack on the Capitol in January of 2021, where more than 140 law enforcement officers were injured, was the largest attack on law enforcement officers in the United States. U.S. Capitol and Washington, D.C., police persisted in defending the building, in the face of getting sprayed with harsh chemicals or beaten with flagpoles.

On the campaign trail, Trump regularly featured the stories of Jan. 6 defendants he labeled “hostages” and “patriots.” Loudspeakers at Trump rallies blared a version of the national anthem sung by a choir of incarcerated rioters.

Federal judges in Washington, where the courthouse cafeteria boasts a view of the Capitol dome and the scene of the crime, generally imposed lighter punishments than the DOJ had requested in hundreds of Jan. 6 cases. But they also pushed back hard in their courtrooms against efforts to rewrite the history of that day, amid claims from Trump and his allies that the rioters had been unfairly targeted for prosecution.

In the year since the attack on the Capitol, the investigation became a priority for former Attorney General Merrick Garland, who told NPR that almost every U.S. attorney’s office is working on this matter. We’ve issued thousands of subpoenas, seized and examined thousands of electronic devices, examined terabytes of data, thousands of hours of videos.”

The case against Trump that the federal government had against them ended with a whimper after being accused of conspiring to cling to power and denying millions of Americans the right to vote in 2020.

Special counsel Jack Smith secured a four-count felony indictment of Trump but said he was forced to abandon the case after Trump won the 2024 election, based on a longstanding DOJ view that a sitting president cannot be charged or face trial.

Biden said the pardons were necessitated by exceptional circumstances. “Even when individuals have done nothing wrong — and in fact have done the right thing — and will ultimately be exonerated, the mere fact of being investigated or prosecuted can irreparably damage reputations and finances,” he said.

Precautionary pardons were needed because of threats of “unjustified and politically motivated prosecutions” by the incoming administration, according to Biden.

Investigating and prosecuting the alleged perpetrators of COVID-19: A brief review of the January 6th attack by the U.S. Senate Select Committee

It is not clear that the incoming Trump administration intends to prosecute the individuals. Pam Bondi, Trump’s nominee for attorney general, said last week during her confirmation hearing that there wouldn’t be political prosecutions on her watch. But Trump’s nominee for FBI director, Kash Patel, has called for many of Trump’s opponents to be investigated or prosecuted.

Fauci was a leading figure leading the U.S. response to the COVID-19 pandemic. An infectious disease specialist at the National Institutes of Health, he encouraged people to wear masks and social distance, but Trump allies accuse him of covering up the alleged real causes of COVID. Trump called Fauci a “disaster” and Fauci has been investigated by congressional Republicans.

Fauci pointed out that he had served under presidents of both parties and that his goal has been to improve the health and lives of humankind.

Fauci said that he believes that his legacy is that of a dedicated and accomplished physician/scientist and public health official who was able to save millions of lives with the help of teams of skilled and distinguished colleagues.

Milley was the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff during Trump’s first term and called him a “fascist to the core” in Bob Woodward’s book. Trump believes that he should be executed.

“Rather than accept accountability, those who perpetrated the January 6th attack have taken every opportunity to undermine and intimidate those who participated in the Select Committee in an attempt to rewrite history, erase the stain of January 6th for partisan gain, and seek revenge, including by threatening criminal prosecutions,” Biden said.

Staffers for the House select Jan. 6 committee were “surprised” by the news of the pardon. A congressional aide said that they were not certain if they needed to accept the pardon or not. The announcement didn’t include names or any information about what the pardon was about. The aide who was not authorized to speak on the record said that the staffers were relieved to hear that the committee’s staff was not going to be targeted.

In the end, it appears the panel’s final report. pardons will cover dozens of staffers. The panel’s final report included more than 50 names. Consultants and contractors are listed in the report, but it was not clear if the pardons covered them.