Chicago – January 12, 2025
As President-elect Donald Trump prepares to pardon some of the individuals charged in the January 6, 2021, Capitol attack, Vice President-elect JD Vance made it clear that not everyone involved in the event would receive clemency.
On Sunday, Vance said that those who peacefully protested on January 6th, and were treated unfairly by the Department of Justice, should be pardoned. However, he stressed that people who committed violence on that day should not be pardoned.
Vance also acknowledged that there are situations where the decision might not be so clear-cut. He did not go into specifics about which actions or charges might fall into this “gray area.”
President-elect Trump has promised to issue pardons quickly for those involved in the Capitol attack, but he has also mentioned that there could be some exceptions for those who engaged in violent or extreme behavior.
Trump had previously suggested in an interview that pardons could extend to people who pleaded guilty to assaulting police officers, explaining that they acted out of a lack of options due to the tough justice system.
As of August, nearly 1,500 individuals have been charged for their involvement in the Capitol breach, with almost 900 pleading guilty and about 950 already sentenced.
