He issued formal pardons to more than 1,550 rioters charged with a wide range of crimes and commuted the sentences of 14 members of far-right groups.
President Trump granted two types of clemency on Monday to all of the nearly 1,600 people who faced prosecution for the attack on the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.
He issued formal pardons to more than 1,550 rioters charged with a wide range of crimes, starting at the low end with trespassing and disorderly conduct and increasing in severity to assaulting police officers and seditious conspiracy.
Mr. Trump also commuted the sentences of 14 members of two far-right groups, the Proud Boys and the Oath Keepers militia. Most of those defendants were convicted on sedition charges and were serving prison terms of up to 18 years. Under the commutations, their sentences will be reduced to time served.
In a separate but related move, Mr. Trump ordered his Justice Department to dismiss any criminal indictments that remained pending against Jan. 6 defendants. And he directed the Bureau of Prisons to “immediately implement” his clemency grants, meaning that the 240 or so rioters behind bars could be released as early as Monday night.
Misdemeanor Defendants
Mr. Trump’s pardons covered about 1,000 nonviolent offenders — the largest single group granted clemency. Those defendants breached the restricted grounds of the Capitol or illegally entered the building itself, but were never accused of breaking anything or hurting anyone.
But even though they may not have committed acts of violence, a federal appeals court has ruled that each person who joined the mob on Jan. 6, “no matter how modestly behaved,” still contributed to the chaos at the Capitol.