Trump defends his decision to pardon January 6 rioters

Many of the more than 1,500 individuals who were charged with the attack on the U.S. Capitol four years ago were serving sentences that President Trump deemed “ridiculous and excessive.” He justified his decision by granting blanket pardons to these individuals.

In a Tuesday White House press conference, Trump claimed that he granted the pardons because, in many instances, “these people have already served a long period of time, and I made a decision to give a pardon.”

Trump issued the pardons during a whirlwind first day back in office on Monday in an order that 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.”

His order included a pardon for Enrique Tarrio, the former chairman of the Proud Boys, as well as a commutation for former Oath Keepers leader Stewart Rhodes, who like Tarrio was convicted for the rarely used charge of seditious conspiracy.

Trump sought to sidestep criticism about the pardons, saying that his supporters were prosecuted and sent to prison even though “you have murderers who aren’t charged all over.”

“Murderers get no time. You take a look at some of these [district attorneys]. They go after political opponents, but they don’t go after people that shoot people in the street,” Trump said.

At the same time, he attempted to shift the blame to former President Joe Biden for his decision to grant preemptive pardons to several members of his family as well as members of Congress and staff who were part of the Jan. 6 committee in the last days of his administration.

“Many criminals were pardoned by Joe Biden yesterday. “You should be asking that question because these are criminals that he pardoned,” Trump stated.

Biden stated before he left office that the incoming Trump administration’s “unjustified and politically motivated prosecutions” were the reason for the pardons.