During his 2024 campaign, now President-elect Donald Trump promised to pardon January 6th rioters convicted of sedition, conspiracy, and assault against law enforcement.
"I will look very, very favorably about full pardons. If I decide to run and if I win, I will be looking very, very strongly about pardons. Full pardons," Trump said, adding: "We'll be looking very, very seriously at full pardons because we can't let that happen. ... And I mean full pardons with an apology to many."
But just before the inauguration, Vice President-elect JD Vance says people responsible for the violence during the Capitol riot “obviously” should not be pardoned.
Vance then waffled on his comments, saying there was a “bit of a gray area” in some cases.
After severe online criticism from the MAGA base, Vance wrote on X: “I’ve been defending these guys for years."
More than 1,500 people have been charged with federal crimes stemming from the attack that left more than 100 police officers injured and sent lawmakers running into hiding as they met to certify the 2020 election results.
