When Donald Trump sworn in as the 47th president of the US, more than 1,500 Americans convicted or awaiting trial for the January 6, 2021 attack on the US Capitol will wait to see if he makes good on his campaign pledge to pardon them.

The riot sparked the largest criminal investigation in the history of the US Department of Justice, and prosecutors continue to bring new charges nearly four years later. The cases have consumed federal court in Washington, with judges producing hundreds of pages of findings documenting the culpability of Trump supporters for violence and disruption as Congress convened to certify his 2020 loss to the president. Joe Biden.

Demonstrators attempt to enter the US Capitol on January 6, 2021.

Photographer: Victor J. Blue/Bloomberg

Trump will have the authority to remove all of these when he takes office on January 20. The president’s clemency power is broad and subject to limits.

Trump did not provide details on how comprehensive his pardons would be or how he would carry them out. There is precedent for widespread presidential clemency. President Jimmy Carter signed a proclamation in 1977, pardoning Americans who avoided military conscription during the Vietnam War, although there was an exception for crimes involving “force or violence.”

The prospect of mass pardons on January 6 has faced backlash when Trump has brought it up since leaving office. Critics raise high-level concerns about the message the pardon would send about accountability for an event that undermined the peaceful transfer of power, as well as immediate fears about threats to lawyers, judges, witnesses and others involved in these cases.

High level crimes

Judges usually ordered pretrial detention for defendants accused of violence or more serious crimes. Of the nearly 1,000 people convicted so far, two-thirds have received time behind bars, ranging from a few days or weeks for misdemeanor convictions to months or years for violent crimes or high-level crimes such as conspiracy seditious.

Louis Manzo, a former Justice Department lawyer who helped prosecute members of the extremist group Oath Keepers in the Jan. 6 activities, said in an interview that he is concerned about the safety of current and former prosecutors. Manzo lamented the prospect of pardoned defendants and other Americans feeling emboldened to use force to advance their political views in the future.

Donald Trump speaks to supporters at The Ellipse on January 6, 2021.

Photographer: Mandel Ngan/AFP/Getty Images

“Hopefully we as a country can move forward, but there’s just never going to be any consequences for taking over the Capitol” if Trump orders widespread clemency, Manzo said.

A Justice Department spokesman declined to comment. The Trump campaign did not immediately return a request for comment.

Trump echoed claims by some of the Jan. 6 defendants and their supporters that the investigation is politically motivated and said over the summer that he will “absolutely” issue pardons. Although the attack on the Capitol featured violent clashes between rioters and law enforcement officers, Trump called it “the day of love.”

Assault, Obstruction

The judges handling these cases have denounced such representations. More than 500 people have been charged with assaulting, obstructing or obstructing officers, conformable US Attorney’s Office in Washington. Many of these cases involved charges for the use or possession of weapons.

Hours after news outlets declared Trump the winner Wednesday morning, at least one defendant from Jan. 6 signaled he was pinning his hopes on Trump’s promise of clemency. An attorney for Christopher Carnell, who was found guilty of a felony and multiple misdemeanors for entering the Capitol on Jan. 6 and is awaiting sentencing, asked to postpone an upcoming hearing, citing Trump’s election victory.

Demonstrators walk through the US Capitol after breaking through barricades to the building on January 6, 2021.

Photographer: Victor J. Blue/Bloomberg

“Mr. Carnell, who was an 18-year-old who nonviolently entered the Capitol on January 6th, expects to be cleared of the criminal prosecution he currently faces when the new administration takes office,” attorney Marina Medvin wrote. Judge by US district Beryl Howell rejected the request.

Medvin did not respond to a request for comment.

The Justice Department has an office to assist the White House in executive clemency actions, but ultimately the president is not required to go through a formal process.

Trump could pardon the defendants outright or shorten their sentences by commutation. Speaking about his plans at an event in July, he said he would grant pardons “if they are innocent”. Pressed that many defendants have already been convicted, Trump responded that he faces “a very tough system.”

“Dramatic Strike”

Mary McCordwho directs the Institute for Advocacy and Constitutional Protection at the Georgetown University Law Center, said a broad pardon for Jan. 6 would be a “dramatic blow.” Even if Trump limited his actions to defendants who were not convicted of violence, she said, the pardons could still free people who committed serious crimes but agreed to plea deals to lesser crimes.

It is also unclear whether any executive action would be forward-looking and provide blanket protection from ongoing and future prosecutions. It would be more difficult to enforce, but might not be necessary, McCord said, because Trump could simply direct Justice Department officials to dismiss existing cases and not bring new ones.

A “Make America Great Again” hat on the ground at the US Capitol.

Photographer: Graeme Sloan/Bloomberg

Federal judges are generally not allowed to speak publicly about pending cases, but members of the U.S. District Court in the nation’s capital made clear in written opinions and court comments that they saw Jan. 6 as a threat to democratic institutions. The judges also spoke during the hearings of their hope that the convictions and prison terms would deter a similar event in the future. Manzo, the former Justice Department lawyer, predicted “extreme disappointment” at the bank if Trump follows through on his promise.

“For all the work they put into the cases, for all of them to be pardoned will certainly be a shock to the system,” he said.

To contact the reporter about this story:
Zoe Tillman in Washington at [email protected]

To contact the editors responsible for this story:
Sarah Ford at [email protected]

Elizabeth Wasserman, Peter Jeffrey

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