President-elect Donald Trump announced on Tuesday plans to issue “major pardons” for individuals charged in connection with the January 6, 2021, breach of the U.S. Capitol. The event occurred as Congress convened to certify President Joe Biden’s electoral victory.
Speaking at a press conference from his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida, Trump emphasized the plight of those he believes were unjustly incarcerated. “People that didn’t even walk into the building are in jail right now,” he stated. “We’ll be looking at the whole thing, but I’ll be making major pardons, yes.”
The Justice Department reports that over 1,500 individuals have faced charges related to the Capitol breach, with more than 1,000 pleading guilty to various offenses, including felonies and misdemeanors. Trump’s remarks came shortly after the four-year anniversary of the event, during which he addressed questions about pardoning those accused of violent actions.
The president-elect also reiterated his defense of Ashli Babbitt, a protester who was fatally shot by Capitol Police during the incident. “The only one that was killed was a beautiful young lady named Ashli Babbitt,” Trump said, adding that her death was unnecessary. “In fact, they say she was trying to hold back the crowd.”
Trump raised concerns about the FBI’s handling of investigations related to the Capitol events, including the identity of the individual responsible for planting pipe bombs near the Republican and Democratic National Committee headquarters the day before the breach. “The FBI knows who it is,” Trump claimed, criticizing the agency’s transparency. “The status of the FBI has gone down.”
He further suggested that members of the FBI may have been involved in the January 6 incident, promising to investigate the matter during his administration. “We’re looking at it,” he said. “There were 26, 28 people from the FBI there very quietly, and nobody reported it. We have to find out about that.”
Trump’s statements have drawn sharp criticism from political opponents. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) condemned his plans, asserting that the January 6 participants were not heroes. “Donald Trump wants to whitewash the insurrection that occurred four years ago, but the American people know what they saw with their own eyes,” Warren told USA Today. “People convicted of assaulting police officers and causing a riot are not heroes. They are insurrectionists.”
This is not the first time Trump has vowed to pardon January 6 defendants, and his comments signal that the issue will likely remain a point of contention as his administration begins.