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Donald Trump says he plans to pardon US Capitol attack participants if elected
‘I mean full pardons with an apology to many,’ says former president as January 6 rioter sentenced to 10 years for assault
Politics
Donald Trump said on Thursday he would pardon and apologize to those who participated in the deadly attack on the US Capitol on January 6 if he were elected to the White House again.
“I mean full pardons with an apology to many,” he told Wendy Bell, a conservative radio host on Thursday. “I will be looking very, very strongly about pardons, full pardons.”
Related: ‘US democracy will not survive for long’: how January 6 hearings plot a roadmap to autocracy
Five people died in connection with the attack and more than 140 law enforcement officers were injured. More than 875 people have been charged with crimes related to January 6, according to an NPR tracker. 370 people have pleaded guilty to crimes so far.
Trump also said he was offering financial support to some of those involved in the attack. “I am financially supporting people that are incredible and they were in my office actually two days ago, so they’re very much in my mind,” Trump said. “It’s a disgrace what they’ve done to them. What they’ve done to these people is disgraceful.”
It was not immediately clear what the extent of Trump’s financial assistance was.
In a series of televised hearings this summer, the US House panel investigating the Capitol attack laid out extensive evidence that Trump encouraged the mob to go to the Capitol on January 6 and resisted efforts to quell the violence.
The panel is set to continue its work this fall, but the decision over whether to file criminal charges will ultimately be made by the US Department of Justice.
Trump has heavily hinted that he will run for the presidency again in 2024, but has so far not confirmed any bid. If he does run, he will automatically be the overwhelming favorite to be the Republican nominee as his grip on the party and its base remains strong.
Trump’s comments came the same day that Thomas Webster, a retired New York police department officer, was sentenced to 10 years in prison, the longest sentence issued so far for any defendant in the attack, according to the Associated Press. A jury found Webster guilty after he argued he was acting in self-defense when he assaulted a Washington DC police officer and pulled his gas mask off.
“Some of the legal people on the other side, they’re the most cold-hearted people. They don’t care about families. They don’t care about anything,” Trump said Thursday.
Amit Mehta, the US district judge who sentenced Webster, said that other than the police officer, the other victim in the attack was “democracy”.