Department of Justice must also archive the cases of those who have not yet gone to trial
Donald Trump announced that he will grant pardons to the “January 6th hostages,” referring to people convicted of crimes related to the January 6, 2021, invasion of the Capitol.
“Tonight, I will sign the pardons of the January 6th hostages to free them. And as soon as I leave, I’m going to the Oval Office and we’re going to sign pardons for many people”, he declared to his supporters, in a speech at the Capital One Arena, presenting at his side one that he should sign shortly.
According to CNN, the Department of Justice is also expected to dismiss the cases of those who have not yet gone to trial.
Trump’s announcement comes after Joe Biden had minutes before the new president’s inauguration.
More than 730 people have been convicted of crimes related to the invasion of the Capitol on January 6, 2021, after Joe Biden’s victory in the presidential elections. Additionally, there are approximately 300 cases still pending in court, including many charges of violent crimes such as assaulting police.
More than 140 police officers were injured during the invasion, which lasted around seven hours. Five agents and four Trump supporters were killed following the raid.
The Department of Justice and the FBI launched a nationwide manhunt to identify and arrest the suspects in what turned into the largest criminal investigation in U.S. history. Prosecutors charged more than 1,580 people and secured around 1,270 convictions.
According to CNN, some of those accused are elderly people who were caught in the melee. Others entered the Capitol for a few minutes, but never attacked anyone or vandalized anything. Most do not have a criminal record. A large portion of people said they never intended to infiltrate the Capitol, much less disrupt Congress’ certification of the 2020 election results. Some believe the police waved them into the building.
