Donald Trump recently disclosed his day 1 plans as the president. He revealed that he will be pardoning rioters who were involved in the January 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol. The president-elect made the statement in an exclusive interview with NBC “Meet the Press” moderator Kristen Welker. The attack, which was reportedly aimed at overturning his 2020 election defeat, is one of the most extensive federal investigations in the country’s history. The news comes a few days after President Joe Biden pardoned his son, Hunter Biden, who was convicted of federal gun and tax crimes.
Donald Trump to pardon Capitol rioters: ‘I’m going to be acting very quickly’
Speaking to NBC’s Kristen Welker, Donald Trump revealed that he is looking forward to pardoning the Capitol rioters on his first day in office. He said, “I’m gonna be acting very quickly… I’m looking first day.” This isn’t the first time that Trump has mentioned his wish to pardon the rioters. Earlier this year, he had expressed a similar sentiment on his Truth Social website. He also mentioned pardoning the rioters in a CNN town hall in New Hampshire in May.
In his recent NBC interview, Trump said that the rioters were in “the most disgusting, filthy place” for years. However, he noted that there may be exceptions to his pardons if somebody was “radical, crazy.” Meanwhile, Trump didn’t exclude pardoning rioters who pleaded guilty. After asking him about individuals who admitted to assaulting police officers, the president-elect claimed that they had no other alternative.
Trump also shed light on the other 900 people who also pleaded guilty in connection to the attack. These individuals weren’t accused of attacking the officers. He blamed it on the system, calling it “corrupt” and “nasty.” According to NBC, over 1500 defendants have been charged and more than 1251 individuals have been convicted or pleaded guilty in the attack. Among these, at least 645 defendants have been sentenced to incarceration. The punishment ranges from a few days to over two decades in federal prison.
