Trump pardons nearly all charged in Jan 6 US Capitol riot

 

On his first day back in office, President Trump issued a sweeping clemency proclamation for roughly 1,500 individuals convicted of crimes related to the January 6, 2021 attack on the US Capitol.The move follows through on Trump’s repeated promise to absolve those involved in the riot, which aimed to disrupt the certification of Joe Biden’s 2020 presidential election victory.

Trump's action, announced hours after his swearing-in for a second term, grants pardons and commutations to many of the individuals involved in the Capitol assault. The president has long minimised the significance of the attack, which saw a mob of his supporters storm the Capitol in an effort to prevent Congress from certifying Biden’s win.

Trump’s clemency covers defendants convicted of both violent and nonviolent crimes, including assaulting law enforcement officers and seditious conspiracy.