US President Donald Trump pardoned more than 1,500 of his followers who stormed the Capitol on January 6, 2021, in an attempt to overturn the 2020 election results.
Just hours after taking office, Trump ordered that all ongoing criminal proceedings against the Capitol riot suspects be dismissed.
Enrique Tarrio, the former leader of the far-right Proud Boys, was among those pardoned.
He had been sentenced to 22 years in prison for directing a military-style assault on the Capitol.
Stewart Rhodes, the leader of another far-right group, the Oath Keepers, had his 18-year prison sentence commuted to time served. Both Tarrio and Rhodes had been convicted of seditious conspiracy.
Describing the rioters as “hostages,” Trump said at a White House signing ceremony that he had granted “full pardons” to more than 1,500 defendants.
“We hope they come out tonight, frankly,” he said.
A total of 1,583 people were charged in connection with the assault on Congress by Trump supporters seeking to disrupt certification of Democrat Joe Biden’s election victory.
During his election campaign, Trump promised to pardon those involved in the Capitol attack, referring to them as “patriots” and “political prisoners.”
Despite the fact that over 140 police officers were injured in hours of clashes with rioters wielding flagpoles, baseball bats, hockey sticks, and other weapons, Trump has dismissed the violence of January 6 as a “day of love.”
