Headline:
Trump‘s Victory Renews Hope for January 6th Assault Pardons; Capitol Attack Anniversary Marred by Uncertainty
Subheading:
Convicted insurrectionists see Trump’s return to power as a path to freedom, while Biden administration considers preemptive pardons for critics.
Article:
The fourth anniversary of the January 6th Capitol attack arrives under a cloud of uncertainty, with the stunning electoral triumph of Donald Trump casting a long shadow over the event that sought to thwart his defeat. On this day, the certification of Trump’s victory in the 2024 election will mark a bitter irony, given his supporters’ failed attempt to prevent Joe Biden’s Election Day win in 2020.
Among the hundreds of defendants and convicts who participated in the insurrection, many see Trump’s return to power as a chance for redemption. Philip Sean Grillo, who was sentenced to a year in prison for his role in the attack, shouted "Trump will pardon me anyway" as he was led away in handcuffs. Others, such as Christopher Belliveau, Cindy Young, and William Pope, have requested special permissions to attend Trump’s inauguration, believing that the leader they followed is not only regaining power but also promising wide-scale pardons for those convicted.
Trump’s campaign has consistently echoed support for the "patriots" who stormed the Capitol, glamorizing their actions and referring to them as "political prisoners." At a rally in Waco, Texas, earlier this year, he opened the event with "Justice for All," a song that combines the voices of imprisoned insurrectionists singing the national anthem with Trump reciting the Pledge of Allegiance, closing with the detainees chanting "U-S-A." As the song played, screens displayed images from the January 6th attack.
However, President Biden has repeatedly criticized Trump’s handling of the situation, arguing that his failure to condemn the violence and glorify it instead poses a significant risk to democracy. Now, with Trump elected to resume the presidency, Biden finds himself weighing the prospect of preemptive pardons for potential targets of Trump’s prosecutorial pursuit, including Representative Liz Cheney, who was lauded by Biden this week for "putting country over party."
In the interim, the criminal landscape of January 6th has evolved. The Department of Justice reports that more than 1,500 individuals have been charged, with over 1,000 having received sentences, including 645 who were incarcerated. However, following the Supreme Court’s decision in June to declare the offense of obstruction of a official proceeding inapplicable to the Capitol attack, 133 sentences are currently under review.
The harshest penalties have been meted out to leaders of extremist groups. Enrique Tarrio, president of the Proud Boys, was sentenced to 22 years in prison for seditious conspiracy. The Oath Keepers‘ founder, Stewart Rhodes, and his successor, Ethan Nordean, both received 18-year sentences.
Yet, the prospect of presidential pardons looms large over these convictions. Judge Amit Mehta, who sentenced Rhodes, expressed concern about the potential for Trump to intervene in the cases of those sentenced to longer terms. Legal scholars, such as Joyce Vance of the Brennan Center, argue that pardoning January 6th insurrectionists would effectively endorse attacks on democracy and embolden far-right extremist groups.
As the country grapples with the anniversary of the Capitol attack and the uncertain future that Trump’s victory portends, one thing remains clear: the true story of January 6th, 2021, will not change, irrespective of the judicial or executive decisions that may follow.
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