Jonathan Turley, a constitutional law attorney and Fox News contributor, responded “American newsroom” Tuesday for President Donald Trump’s pardons for nearly all of the Jan. 6 rioters charged with crimes.
PRESIDENT BIDEN GIVEN HIS BROTHERS AND SISTERS ONLY BEFORE THEY LEAVE OFFICE
JONATHAN TURLEY: Well, the Justice Department really pushed for this pardon, and that was difficult to achieve because most of us supported the people responsible for holding the riot accountable. It was a terrible day. But the Justice Department unleashed what one of its top lawyers called a “shock and awe” campaign, and they rounded up hundreds of people. They often demanded, in my opinion, really excessive punishments. Most of these people were charged with mere trespass or unlawful entry. Most of them were not violent. The government often opposed bail and kept some of them in segregation for long periods of time. In some cases, they demanded restrictions on what people could say, read or associate with after their release. All this tended to undermine their case. So when the president campaigned on this issue, I think a lot of people wanted to close this chapter, and he certainly did that. I mean, this was broader than most people expected or even asked for.
US President Donald Trump signs pardons for the January 6 defendants in the Oval Office of the White House on Inauguration Day in Washington, US, January 20, 2025. (REUTERS/Carlos Barria)
Trump signed pardoned approximately 1,500 defendants who were charged with crimes stemming from the riot at the U.S. Capitol, fulfilling a promise he made in December to act quickly and pardon them.
Trump too the sentences converted of six people on Monday, including the leaders of the extremist groups Oath Keepers and Proud Boys.
“Tonight I’m going to sign the J6 hostages pardon to get them out,” Trump said during the parade at Capital One Arena in Washington. “I’m going to the Oval Office and we’re going to sign pardons for a lot of people.”
The Justice Department reported that approximately 140 police officers were assaulted during the Capitol riot on January 6, 2021. This included law enforcement members from both the U.S. Capitol Police and approximately 60 from the Metropolitan Police Department.
So far, judges or a jury have convicted about 250 people charged for their involvement in the riot after a trial, and by January more than 1,000 had pleaded guilty to crimes.
Diana Stancy of Fox News contributed to this report.
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