(AFP) – Donald Trump supporters who were charged with storming the US Capitol are now expecting pardons from the incoming American president, who has lauded them as “patriots” and “political prisoners.” More than 1,500 people have been charged in connection with the January 6, 2021 assault on Congress which sought to disrupt certification of Democrat Joe Biden’s 2020 election victory.
“I am inclined to pardon many of them,” Trump, whose first term as president ended under the cloud of the attack, said at a CNN town hall, one of a number of times he made the pledge during his 2024 bid to retake the White House. “I can’t say for every single one because a couple of them, probably, they got out of control,” he said. Trump has repeatedly played down the violence of January 6, even going so far as to describe it recently as a “day of love.” More than 140 police officers were injured in hours of clashes with rioters wielding flagpoles, baseball bats, hockey sticks and other makeshift weapons along with Tasers and canisters of bear spray.
The assault on the Capitol followed a fiery speech by then-president Trump to tens of thousands of his supporters near the White House in which he repeated his false claims that he won the 2020 race. Several Capitol riot defendants have already seized upon Trump’s election victory over Vice President Kamala Harris to ask that their trials or sentencing be put on hold. Christopher Carnell, a 21-year-old from North Carolina, asked that a status hearing in his disorderly conduct case be delayed in light of Trump’s “multiple clemency promises.” Carnell, his lawyer said, “is expecting to be relieved of the criminal prosecution that he is currently facing when the new administration takes office.” Judge Beryl Howell denied the request.
– ‘Never face consequences’ – Another defendant, Jaimee Avery, asked that her sentencing on Friday for trespassing convictions be rescheduled to a date after January 20, 2025 — the day Trump will be sworn in as the 47th US president. “President-elect Trump, who played an integral role in the events of January 6, 2021, has repeatedly publicly stated that he will pardon January 6 protestors should he win the presidency,” her lawyer said in a court filing. “It would create a gross disparity for Ms. Avery to spend even a day in jail when the man who played a pivotal role in organizing and instigating the events of January 6 will now never face consequences for it.” Judge Christopher Cooper denied Avery’s request to delay her sentencing.
Trump was charged by special counsel Jack Smith with conspiring to overturn the results of the 2020 election. But the case never made it to trial, and is now being wound down under the Justice Department’s policy of not prosecuting a sitting president. Trump has not ruled out giving pardons to members of the far-right Proud Boys and Oath Keepers militant groups, who were convicted of seditious conspiracy and received the stiffest prison sentences. Enrique Tarrio, the former Proud Boys leader, is serving a 22-year prison sentence for directing a military-style assault on the Capitol, while Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes was sentenced to 18 years in prison.
According to the latest figures from the US Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia, 1,532 people have been charged in connection with the Capitol siege, including 571 accused of assaulting, resisting or impeding law enforcement officers. More than 940 defendants have pleaded guilty to various offenses while another 195 were convicted at trial. Trump pardoned a number of his close political allies of federal charges before he left office in January 2021, including his 2016 presidential campaign chiefs Paul Manafort and Steve Bannon.
– Chris Lefkow
© 2024 AFP
