Many of the nearly 1,500 Americans convicted for their role in the January 6 Capitol riot are expressing their hope that they will be pardoned following Donald Trump’s election victory.
The former president had vowed on the campaign trail that he would pardon some of the convicted rioters, sometimes even suggesting his clemency might extend to leaders of far-right groups like the Proud Boys.
Those pardons would be determined on a ‘case-by-case basis when he is back in the White House,’ campaign spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt had said.
Still, many of the insurrectionists see Trump’s victory as a chance for them to get their convictions overturned, as some seek to delay any further court hearings until after the president-elect is inaugurated in January.
At least one convicted rioter has also argued that the former president’s victory over Vice President Kamala Harris is a vindication of their actions.
President-elect Donald Trump had vowed on the campaign trail that he would pardon some of the 1,500 people convicted in the January 6, 2021 riots
Many now see Trump’s victory as a chance for them to get their convictions overturned for the riot (pictured), as some seek to delay any further court hearings until after Trump is inaugurated in January
Among those hoping to be pardoned under the new administration, is Christopher Carnell, whose lawyers asked a federal judge to delay a hearing in his case just hours after the presidential election was called.
‘Throughout his campaign, President-elect Trump made multiple clemency promises to the Jan. 6 defendants, particularly to those who were non-violent participants,’ the attorneys wrote, according to the New York Times.
‘Mr. Carnell, who was an 18-year-old nonviolent entrant into the Capitol on Jan. 6 is expected to be relieved of the criminal prosecution that he is currently facing when the new administration takes office.’
Federal judge Beryl A Howell swiftly rejected the motion, without offering an explanation, but attorneys for other January 6 rioters have said they will file similar motions – with even the lawyers for former Proud Boys chairman Enrique Tarrio suggesting they would fight his conviction once Trump is back in office.
The lawyers released a statement following Trump’s victory saying they wanted to ‘explore every possible avenue’ to win Tarrio’s release. He is currently behind bars, serving 22 years in prison for his role in the insurrection.
‘We look forward to what the future holds, both in terms of the judicial process for our client and the broader political landscape under the new administration,’ the lawyers said.
Edward Jacob ‘Jake’ Lang seemed confident in a post on X that his conviction would be overturned
At least one convicted rioter has suggested Trump’s victory is a vindication of his actions
Some January 6 rioters now say they are confident they will be pardoned, with Edward Jacob ‘Jake’ Lang posting on Wednesday: ‘I’M COMING HME!!!! THE JANUARY 6 POLITICAL PRISONERS ARE FINALLY COMING HOME!!!!’
‘In just 75 days, on January 20, 2025, when Donald J Trump is inaugurated as the 47th President of the United States, he will pardon all of the J6 Hostages,’ Lang asserted.
He is currently serving time in jail, after federal prosecutors charged him with wielding a dangerous weapon against Capitol Police officers and obstruction of an official proceeding.
Footage from the mayhem shows him hitting officers with a bat ‘multiple times,’ according to an FBI affidavit.
Derrick Evans, who was sentenced to three months behind bars in June 2022, also told Newsweek he is ‘100 percent confident’ Trump will pardon at least the nonviolent offenders.
‘And you might even see J6ers joining the administration or going back to DC as members of Congress, or Senate even,’ he suggested.
Attorneys for former Proud Boys chairman Enrique Tarrio suggesting they would fight his conviction once Trump is back in office
Meanwhile, convicted rioter Zachary Alam told a federal judge on Thursday he deserved a new classification of pardon, which he called a ‘full pardon of patriotism,’ ABC News reports.
He argued it should come with monetary compensation, expungement of the charges on his criminal record and assurance he would never be charged again – characterizing anything less as a ‘second-class pardon.’
Alam has not denied his participation in the Capitol riot, but has defended his actions by saying he was doing the right thing to protect democracy.
‘True patriots do the right thing in spite of everything else,’ he argued, claiming his fellow rioters ‘fought, cried, bled and died for what is right.’
He then asked whether the insurgency was truly a threat to democracy if the American people re-elected the former president.
‘Sometimes you have to break the rules to do the right thing,’ Alam claimed.
But federal judge Dabney Friedlich said Alam’s actions on January 6, 2021 were a ‘full-throated’ attack on the US Constitution and ‘not the acts of a patriot.’
She went on to call him one of the ‘most violent and aggressive rioters’ that day, after law enforcement officials testified that he told them, ‘I’m going to f*** you up.’
Federal prosecutors also accused Alam of knocking out the glass door of the Speaker’s Lobby and pushing up against three Capitol Police officers who were trying to keep the angry mob from entering the floor of the House of Representatives – where Congressmembers were certifying the results of the 2020 election.
Alam also allegedly scaled four floors of the Capitol, kicked doors and threw a velvet rope over a balcony in an attempt to hit officers below, the Department of Justice alleged.
He then allegedly shouted to his fellow rioters they ‘need guns’ before he fled the scene.
Alam was ultimately sentenced to eight years in prison with three years supervised release – despite Trump’s win.
