The 47th US president has issued “full pardons” to around 1,500 people associated with the storming of the Capitol in 2021
US President Donald Trump has pardoned around 1,500 people involved in the storming of the Capitol building in 2021.
Trump signed an executive order granting pardons in the Oval Office on Monday, hours after he was sworn in for his second term.
The president granted “a full, complete and unconditional pardon to all other individuals convicted of offenses related to events that occurred at or near the United States Capitol on January 6, 2021,” the order said. Additionally, 14 people got their sentences commuted. “We hope that they come out tonight, frankly,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office.
Trump instructed the attorney general to dismiss “all pending indictments” related to the riot. He described the pardons as a measure to rectify “a grave national injustice” and a step towards “national reconciliation.”
On January 6, 2021, a group of Trump supporters broke through security barriers and briefly overran the Capitol building, hoping to disrupt the certification of Joe Biden’s victory in the 2020 presidential election. While some intruders were non-violent, others fought with police officers and destroyed property.
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