President Donald Trump, free from the burden of his own indictment for allegedly conspiring to subvert the results of the 2020 election, announced on Monday that he would pardon people who attacked the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.
While signing a series of executive orders at the White House hours after his inauguration, Trump said he was pardoning about 1,500 defendants charged in the attack on the U.S. Capitol and issuing six commutations.
“So this is Jan. 6,” he said as he received the executive order. “These are the hostages. Approximately 1,500 were pardoned. Full pardon. You have about six commutations in there, but we are doing further research.”
“We hope they come out tonight, frankly,” he added.
In the leadup to his second administration, Trump was cagey about how far he would go with clemency for some of the more than 1,580 individuals charged with various crimes connected to Jan. 6. Approximately 1,100 defendants have been sentenced so far, and arrests are ongoing.
According to the Department of Justice, as of Jan. 4, 608 people were charged with assaulting police, 174 were convicted of using a deadly and dangerous weapon, and at least 180 were charged with entering the Capitol carrying a dangerous or deadly weapon. Those weapons included guns, pepper spray, axes, hatchets, swords, knives and a variety of makeshift weapons transported from home or made on the fly from items such as metal barriers, flagpoles, sticks and police shields.
Just under 100 people were charged with destruction of property. According to the Architect of the U.S. Capitol, only a small fraction of the roughly $3 million in damage was ever repaid.
A person who received a presidential pardon sees some of their rights restored and their criminal history forgiven. As president, Trump can also issue commutations. A commutation can stop or reduce a person’s sentencing, but the crime itself is not forgiven.
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It wasn’t immediately clear how soon rioters who are currently in prison could be released. The Bureau of Prisons did not immediately return a request for comment to HuffPost ahead of Trump’s inauguration.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.