WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump on Monday issued nearly 1,500 pardons and commuted the sentences of 14 of his supporters in connection with the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol, when thousands stormed the building over his continued lies that the 2020 presidential election was rigged against him.
Trump also commuted the sentences of those associated with the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers, who were convicted of seditious conspiracy.
“This is a big one,” Trump said in the Oval Office. “We hope they come out tonight, frankly.”
Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) called Trump’s actions “an outrageous insult to our justice system”.
“It is shameful that the President has decided to make one of his top priorities the abandonment and betrayal of police officers who put their lives on the line to stop an attempt to subvert the peaceful transfer of power,” she said in a statement. “Despite the President’s decision, we must always remember the extraordinary courage and valor of the law enforcement heroes who stood in the breach and ensured that democracy survived on that dark day.”
The pardons fulfill one of Trump’s central campaign promises.
“So, this is January 6th. These are the hostages, approximately 1,500 for a pardon,” Trump said.
Former Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio, who was sentenced to 22 years in prison after his conviction of seditious conspiracy, was being processed for release from his cell in Louisiana following Trump’s executive action.
Over 1,580 people were charged criminally in federal court, according to the Department of Justice. More than 1,000 have pleaded guilty.
Trump rescinds Biden administration policies
Elsewhere, Trump also signed an executive order that impacted transgender Americans, including an executive order declaring that the U.S. government will only recognize a person’s gender assigned at birth.
“It is the policy of the United States to recognize two sexes, male and female. These are sexes that are not changeable, and they are grounded in fundamental and incontrovertible reality,” an incoming White House official said during a press call.
The executive order is part of the Trump administration’s wider “restoring sanity” agenda.
The order will require that the federal government use the term “sex” instead of “gender,” and directs the State Department and the Department of Homeland Security to “ensure that official government documents, including passports and visas, reflect sex accurately,” the official said.
In 2022, the Biden administration allowed U.S. citizens to be able to select the gender-neutral “X” as a marker on their passports.
