The violent riots of January 6 should not be part of Trump’s pardon, the incoming vice president said
The vice president-elect of the US, JD Vance, said on Sunday that the people who caused the violence during the violence in the Capitol “obviously” should not be forgiven.
President-elect Donald Trump is promising to use his clemency powers on behalf of many of those who tried on Jan. 6, 2021, to overturn the results of the election that Trump lost.
In an interview with Fox News Sunday, Vance said the amnesty question is “very simple,” saying those who “peacefully protested” should be pardoned and “if you committed violence that day, obviously you shouldn’t be pardoned.” He later said there was a “grey area” in some cases.
Trump has said he will grant amnesty to protesters on “Day 1” of his presidency, which begins on January 20. “I’ll probably do it soon,” he said recently on NBC. Meet the media.
“Those people have suffered long and hard. And there may be exceptions to it,” he added. “I have to look. But, you know, if someone was passionate, crazy.”
More than 1,500 people have been charged with crimes stemming from the siege that left more than 100 police officers injured and sent lawmakers into hiding as they gathered to ensure Democrat Joe Biden’s 2020 victory.
Hundreds of people who did not participate in the vandalism or violence were charged only with misdemeanor charges for trespassing on the Capitol. Others have been charged with crimes including assaulting the police. The leaders of two extremist groups, the Oath Keepers and the Proud Boys, were convicted of treason for what prosecutors described as a plot to use violence to stop a peaceful transfer of power from Trump to Biden.
In a post on X, Vance responded to criticism from supporters of the Capitol riots that his position did not go far enough to free all convicts. “I have been protecting these boys for years,” he said.
“The president saying he’s going to look at each case (and I’m saying the same) is not backing down,” said Vance. “I can assure you, we care about people who are wrongfully incarcerated. Yes, that includes people who are upset and it includes people who have been convicted of littering.”
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