{"id":2222960,"date":"2024-04-17T06:47:03","date_gmt":"2024-04-17T10:47:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/riot-revisited-trumps-plan-to-pardon-jan-6-defendants\/"},"modified":"2024-04-17T06:50:59","modified_gmt":"2024-04-17T10:50:59","slug":"riot-revisited-trumps-plan-to-pardon-jan-6-defendants","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/riot-revisited-trumps-plan-to-pardon-jan-6-defendants\/","title":{"rendered":"Exploring Trump&#8217;s Proposal to Pardon Jan. 6 Rioters"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">16<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Friot-revisited-trumps-plan-to-pardon-jan-6-defendants%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2222960&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>More than three years after the Jan. 6, 2021 Capitol \u200driot, the Department of Justice\u200b continues to prosecute \u200dthose involved. This includes Donald Trump, impacting both his political future \u2063and personal \u200dfreedom \u200dbased on potential blame for the violence. Examining \u2062the ongoing controversy and legal implications of pursuing Jan. 6 rioters,\u2062 particularly in relation to Trump&#8217;s stance on granting pardons.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<div>\n<p><em>More than three years after the riot at the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, the Department of Justice is continuing to pursue those who participated through hundreds of aggressive prosecutions. That includes Donald Trump, whose political future and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/white-house-releases-list-of-president-trumps-accomplishments-and-it-is-historic\/\" title=\"White House Releases List of President Trump\u2019s Accomplishments \u2013  And It Is Historic!\">personal freedom<\/a> may depend on whether a jury believes he is to blame for the violence. But the intensity of the Biden DOJ\u2019s crackdown on Jan. 6 offenders has stirred controversy, drawn scrutiny from the Supreme Court in <\/em>Fischer v. United States<em>, and become a central focus of Trump\u2019s third presidential campaign. In this series, <strong>Riot revisited: Jan. 6, Justice, and Capitol Consequences<\/strong>, the <\/em>Washington Examiner<em> will look at the legal weaknesses in the DOJ\u2019s efforts to punish Jan. 6 rioters and the future of those cases should Trump reclaim the White House.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Former President <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/donald-trump\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"Donald Trump\">Donald Trump<\/a> has adopted as a centerpiece of his presidential campaign a promise that he will help defendants involved in the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/january-6\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>Jan. 6<\/a> Capitol riot if he is elected in November.<\/p>\n<p>Trump has said he will undo the work of President <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/joe-biden\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"Joe Biden\">Joe Biden<\/a>\u2019s Department of Justice, which has prosecuted nearly 1,500 people in connection to the riot, by vindicating those who have faced charges.<\/p>\n<p>The former president\u2019s habit of showing such sympathy and support for the defendants has drawn the gamut of reactions: praise, skepticism, fury. Some agree with Trump that the DOJ has unfairly punished the defendants, while others say Trump is disregarding evidence and that his rhetoric on the matter is insulting.<\/p>\n<p>Here is a look at Trump\u2019s promises and how he could execute them.<\/p>\n<h2>Trump\u2019s remarks on Jan. 6 defendants<\/h2>\n<p>Trump has shown a pattern of broaching Jan. 6 on the campaign trail, and his remarks are typically met with resounding applause by crowds of supporters.<\/p>\n<p>At a rally in Clinton, Iowa, he drew upon one of his preferred terms, \u201chostages,\u201d as he honored the defendants on the riot\u2019s third anniversary.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThey ought to release the J6 hostages,\u201d Trump said. \u201cThey\u2019ve suffered enough. They ought to release them. I call them hostages. Some people call them prisoners. I call them hostages. Release the J6 hostages, Joe.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Trump has also said repeatedly that he will \u201cfree\u201d them, reiterating the promise as recently as last month.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMy first acts as your next President will be to Close the Border, DRILL, BABY, DRILL, and Free the January 6 Hostages being wrongfully imprisoned!\u201d he wrote on Truth Social on March 11.<\/p>\n<p>Some, such as Tom Fitton, president of the conservative watchdog Judicial Watch, say the term hostages is a \u201cfair analysis\u201d and that Trump would be right to wield pardon power in their favor.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThese are folks who are the victim of government abuse,\u201d Fitton told the <em>Washington Examiner<\/em>. \u201cCall them what you will. They need to be pardoned. They need to have their sentences commuted.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Trump, however, has taken criticism from others, even in his own party, for using the term \u201chostages.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>After Trump praised the \u201cspirit\u201d of participants of Jan. 6 during an Ohio rally last month, former Vice President Mike Pence indicated in a television <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=4m_YnFO8ZO8\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>interview<\/a> that the term was not <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/how-the-media-reacted-to-rush-limbaughs-death\/\" title=\"How The Media Reacted To Rush Limbaugh\u2019s Death\">technically accurate<\/a> and drew a comparison to hostages abroad being held by Hamas terrorists.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI think it\u2019s very unfortunate, at a time that there are American hostages being held in Gaza, that the president or any other leaders would refer to people moving through our justice system as hostages, and it\u2019s just unacceptable,\u201d Pence said.<\/p>\n<p>Bill Shipley, an attorney who has represented dozens of Jan. 6 defendants, chalked the term \u201chostages\u201d up to standard political rhetoric.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOn both sides, there\u2019s hyperbole and narrative that is not strictly factually accurate,\u201d Shipley told the <em>Washington Examiner<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI would fault the Department of Justice for some of the hyperbole, exaggeration, and inaccuracies they employ to drive the narrative,\u201d Shipley added, observing that the DOJ had created a perception of nonstop rioting and violence on Jan. 6, when activity of that nature was, in fact, \u201cepisodic.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2>Who would receive a pardon<\/h2>\n<p>The U.S. Attorney\u2019s Office in Washington, D.C., keeps a meticulous record of who has been prosecuted, convicted, and sentenced.<\/p>\n<p>Its most updated data shows that 859 defendants have been sentenced and 520 have <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/merrick-baby-face-garland-throws-the-book-at-hunter-bag-man-biden\/\" title=\"Merrick Garland prosecutes Hunter Biden.\">received jail time<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Periods of incarceration have ranged from a few days to a few months to several years, depending on the charges involved.<\/p>\n<p>Some defendants crossed into restricted areas of the Capitol grounds but left the vicinity quickly without laying a hand on anyone or any property. Other defendants were violent and destructive. Nearly 100 pleaded guilty to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/biden-admin-clearing-remaining-federal-charges-against-portland-rioters-most-get-probation-community-service\/\" title=\"Biden Admin Clearing Remaining Federal Charges Against Portland Rioters, Most Get Probation, Community Service\">assaulting police officers<\/a>, and dozens of others have been convicted by a jury for similarly violent offenses.<\/p>\n<p>One woman, a 53-year-old hairdresser, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.courtlistener.com\/docket\/59716241\/26\/united-states-v-bissey\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>walked<\/a> into the hallway of the Capitol, stayed for 10 minutes, and then left. She later posted on social media that she was \u201cproud\u201d to have been \u201cpart of it,\u201d according to prosecutors. She pleaded guilty to one of the most common misdemeanors brought against defendants: parading, demonstrating, or picketing in the Capitol. A judge sentenced her to 14 days in prison.<\/p>\n<p>In a more severe case, a gym owner named Scott Fairland brandished a police baton, scaled scaffolding, urged the crowd around him to \u201cdisarm\u201d police and \u201cstorm\u201d the Capitol, and was <a href=\"https:\/\/www.courtlistener.com\/docket\/59300042\/50\/united-states-v-fairlamb\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>captured<\/a> on video shoving an officer to the ground and punching his shield. He was sentenced to 3 1\/2 years in prison.<\/p>\n<p>Trump has not specified exactly who he would pardon, but at a town hall last year, he said he was \u201cinclined to pardon many of them.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI can\u2019t say for every single one, because a couple of them, probably they got out of control,\u201d Trump said, adding that he would pardon \u201ca large portion of them\u201d and that it would be \u201cvery early on\u201d in his presidency.<\/p>\n<h2>Pardon powers<\/h2>\n<p>A president has unilateral clemency authority under the Constitution, and Trump could exercise that authority in office to pardon the defendants, which would erase their charges, or commute their sentences, which would reduce or end their jail time but keep their charges intact.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cA full pardon would basically \u2014 there are many people that do receive a full pardon, even though they\u2019ve already served their sentence and they\u2019ve been convicted \u2014 it takes away that conviction,\u201d said Brett Tolman, a former Utah U.S. attorney who has defended a few who breached the Capitol.<\/p>\n<p>Tolman said he would support Trump pardoning most of the defendants but that 200 or 300 of them \u201cabsolutely deserved to be prosecuted.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Many legal scholars have warned that the executive authority to pardon people is uniquely broad and that it can apply to anyone who has committed an alleged crime or is anywhere in the legal process, whether they have been charged, convicted, or sentenced. However, Protect Democracy, a group founded by lawyers who worked in the Obama White House, has <a href=\"https:\/\/protectdemocracy.org\/work\/the-presidential-pardon-power-explained\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>argued<\/a> Trump\u2019s vow to pardon Jan. 6 defendants could conflict with other parts of the Constitution and therefore be met with pushback from federal courts.<\/p>\n<p>Shipley, a longtime federal prosecutor turned criminal defense lawyer, recommended that Trump set up a pardon office to review cases individually to determine whether they received appropriate treatment.<\/p>\n<p>This would allow for a review of whether a given \u201ccharging decision was appropriate or not from a historical perspective,\u201d he said, noting the office would compare the charges to those leveled during other past protest activity.<\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis town is not unfamiliar with protest activities that lead to people being arrested,\u201d Shipley said.<\/p>\n<p>He added, though, that there was \u201cno question\u201d that on Jan. 6, \u201cthere were people that did illegal stuff, which they should have been prosecuted for.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Over three years post the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot, the Department of Justice persists in aggressively prosecuting participants. This includes Donald Trump, whose fate hinges on potential blame for the violence, crucial for his political and personal liberty<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":49,"featured_media":2222961,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/wex-s3.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/AP24079050315508-1024x683.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[538],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2222960","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-washington-examiner"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/wex-s3.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/AP24079050315508-1024x683.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2222960","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/49"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2222960"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2222960\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2222961"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2222960"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2222960"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2222960"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}