On his first day back in office, President Trump issued pardons and commuted sentences for over 1,500 individuals charged in connection with the Jan. 6 Capitol riot, including those convicted of serious crimes like seditious conspiracy. This move, expected given Trump's previous rhetoric, effectively dismantles efforts by the Justice Department to prosecute those linked to the violent siege. Trump continues to frame the defendants as victims of political persecution, further complicating the narrative around the event that disrupted the democratic process and endangered lawmakers.
Trump is directing the attorney general to seek the dismissal of about 450 pending cases. The pardons were expected after Trump's yearslong campaign to rewrite the history of the Jan. 6 attack.
Yet the scope of the clemency, coming hours after Trump returned to power, still comes as a stunning dismantling of the Justice Department's effort to hold participants accountable.
Collection
[
|
...
]