President Trump pardons 1,500 Capitol Hill rioters

According to CNN, after being sworn in, President Donald Trump on January 20 (US time) pardoned more than 1,500 people accused of the riot attack on the Capitol on January 6, 2021 and said he would commute the sentences of 6 others.

The Justice Department is also expected to take the case to court to dismiss cases that have not yet gone to trial, several sources told CNN.

According to the latest Justice Department estimates, more than 730 people have been convicted of misdemeanor crimes related to the January 6 riots. In addition, as of January 20, 2025, there were still about 300 prosecutions pending in court, including many for alleged violent felonies, such as assaulting a police officer.

President Donald Trump, who has long pledged to pardon at least some of his supporters, stormed the Capitol on January 6, 2021, disrupting the peaceful transition of power. At that point, more than 140 police officers were injured in the seven-hour siege, which also directly and indirectly resulted in the deaths of four Trump supporters in the crowd and five police officers.

Following the attack, the Justice Department and FBI launched a nationwide manhunt to identify and arrest the rioters, becoming the largest criminal investigation in U.S. history. Prosecutors charged more than 1,580 people and convicted about 1,270.

According to Justice Department data, about 55% of the prosecutions from the January 6 events were misdemeanor cases, with charges such as disorderly conduct or trespassing. Of those convicted, the majority were sentenced to probation or a few months in jail and have since been released.

Some of the defendants were elderly people caught up in the chaos. Others were inside the Capitol for several minutes but did not attack anyone or damage anything. Most had no criminal records. A large portion of the crowd said they never intended to enter the Capitol, let alone disrupt Congress’s certification of the 2020 election results.

According to CNN, most Americans oppose these pardons. A poll conducted before Trump took office found that 59% of adults opposed pardoning those who "invaded the Capitol." Two separate surveys found that 66% and 62% opposed pardoning anyone "convicted" of the Capitol attack. A Quinnipiac University poll found that 59% of registered voters opposed pardoning anyone "convicted and imprisoned" in connection with the events of January 6.

But a large segment of Mr Trump's team supports clemency and pardons. Quinnipiac University asked about pardons for those who have been "convicted and imprisoned" and found solid Republican support at 67%.