WASHINGTON, DC - JANUARY 06: Pro-Trump supporters storm the U.S. Capitol following a rally with President Donald Trump on January 6, 2021 in Washington, DC. Trump supporters gathered in the nation's capital today to protest the ratification of President-elect Joe Biden's Electoral College victory over President Trump in the 2020 election. (Photo by Samuel Corum/Getty Images)
Former President Donald Trump hinted that he would pardon those involved in last year’s January 6 Capitol attack if he were to win a second term in the White House.
He spoke at a rally in Conway, Texas.
“Another thing we’ll do — and so many people have been asking me about it — if I run and if I win, we will treat those people from January 6 fairly. We will treat them fairly,” he said on Saturday. “And if it requires pardons, we will give them pardons. Because they are being treated so unfairly.”
Some Republicans responded to Trump’s comment on Sunday. Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina) told CBS’ Face the Nation that Trump’s promise was “inappropriate.”
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Republican Sen. Susan Collins (Maine) said that she did not think Trump should have said he would pardon the Capitol rioters – and it was unlikely that she would support a Trump candidacy.
Over 725 people have been charged for their actions, according to the Department of Justice. Only three have received jail sentences that outlast Biden’s first term. The longest went to Robert Palmer, who assaulted police officers. Last month, he received 63 months in prison.
Others with more serious charges, like Oath Keepers’ leader Stewart Rhodes who was charged with seditious conspiracy, are still awaiting trial. Their sentences could last as long as 20 years.
At the rally, Trump also reiterated a narrative of voter fraud and a stolen 2020 election and called out New York attorneys, including the state’s Attorney General Letitia James, for probing his business practices.
“These prosecutors are vicious, horrible people. They’re racists and they’re very sick – they’re mentally sick,” Trump said. “They’re going after me without any protection of my rights from the Supreme Court or most other courts. In reality, they’re not after me, they’re after you.”
While Trump has not officially announced a bid for his second term as president, he did state at the rally, “We are going to take back the White House” in 2024.
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