President Donald Trump has confirmed that he plans to issue pardons for Jan. 6 defendants on his first day in office.
Trump told “Meet the Press” host Kristen Welker that he will start by pardoning those already convicted of offenses related to the protests at the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021.
Host Kristen Welker said, “I asked the President-elect if he plans to follow through on his campaign promise to pardon those who attacked the Capitol on January 6, including the more than 900 people who pleaded guilty to a crime.”
Trump said, “I’m going to look at everything. We’ll look at individual cases. But I’m going to be acting very quickly.”
Welker said, “Within your first 100 days, first day?”
Trump said, “First day.”
According to the Justice Department, more than 1,488 defendants in all 50 states and D.C. have been charged with crimes related to the Capitol breach.
894 defendants have pled guilty, while another 186 who contested the charges have been found guilty.
Of those, 562 were sentenced to serve time in jail for their crimes, while the rest received probation or other sentences that didn’t involve jail time.
But all those who pled guilty or were convicted will have a criminal record, which can be limiting when searching for jobs, housing, and other necessities of life.
They may also have their voting rights taken away.
Trump can right these wrongs if he pardons these individuals, many of which were charged with much more serious crimes than they needed to be.
Most of those in the Capitol that day were doing nothing more than simply trespassing, but were made out to be violent or dangerous by the media and Democrats.
Using terms like “insurrectionists” and even “rioters” has turned the whole thing into some sort of attempted coup, which it definitely was not.
Even during her interview with Trump, NBC’s Welker referred to Jan. 6 as “an attack.”
However, Jan. 6 was a protest and not a concerted attempt to stop electoral count voting or overthrow the government.
Trump also reacted to the prison many of them were put in, which reportedly had or has terrible conditions.
“These people have been there,” Trump told Welker.
“How long has it been? Three or four years, OK?
“By the way, they’ve been in there for years, and they’re in a filthy, disgusting place that shouldn’t even be allowed to be open.”
WATCH:
“First day, yeh, first day I’ll issue those pardons”
“They’ve been in there for years & they’re in a filthy disgusting place”
Trump will release Jan 6’s who were completely framed as political pawns.
Sound familiar UK? pic.twitter.com/I27GbPauDh
— Concerned Citizen (@BGatesIsaPyscho) December 8, 2024
Elsewhere in the interview, Trump issued a warning for those involved in the Democrats’ House Jan. 6 committee.
Trump argued that Liz Cheney, Bennie Thompson, and “everybody on the committee” behind the “investigation” should be held accountable.
“Honestly, they should go to jail,” Trump said.
WATCH:
WATCH: Will Donald #Trump pardon himself? President-elect goes public
Also thrashes everybody on Jan. 6 Committee: ‘Honestly, they should go to jail’ #J6 #MeetthePress pic.twitter.com/g6vTzWiE0F
— WorldNetDaily (@worldnetdaily) December 8, 2024
