President Donald Trump granted sweeping clemency hours after his inauguration Monday to more than 1,500 people charged in connection with the Jan. 6, 2021, attack at the U.S. Capitol, including some veterans convicted of organizing the riot.
Trump signed a proclamation to grant “full, complete and unconditional” pardons to all but 14 people who were convicted of offenses related to the attack, and he called on new Acting Attorney General James McHenry III to dismiss any remaining Jan. 6 cases going through the courts system.
In addition, Trump commuted the sentences of the 14 people who didn’t receive pardons and asked for their immediate release from prison. Those 14 — nine of whom have military histories — were members of the right-wing, anti-government Oath Keepers and Proud Boys groups.
“This proclamation ends a grave national injustice that has been perpetrated upon the American people over the last four years and begins a process of national reconciliation,” the proclamation reads.
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Of the approximately 1,500 people who have faced charges for their involvement in the Capitol breach, about 230 have military backgrounds, according to the latest data from the National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism. Many of those veterans and service members were not affiliated with any specific group, but 21 were part of the Oath Keepers and 27 were Proud Boys members.
Proud Boys members celebrated the pardons on Telegram, with one chapter writing, “Our brothers are coming home!” According to the Global Project Against Hate and Extremism, which monitors extremist activity online, the Proud Boys are now “positioning themselves as enforcers of Trump’s policy agenda, including aiding in deportations and escalating anti-LGBTQ+ threats.”
Extremism experts and police officers who defended the Capitol on Jan. 6 spoke out against the pardons and commutations. Michael Fanone, an officer who was beaten by rioters that day and has served as an unofficial spokesperson for the 140 officers who were assaulted during the riot, said Monday on CNN he was now worried for his safety and the safety of his family.
“I have been betrayed by my country, and I have been betrayed by those who supported Donald Trump, whether you voted for him because he promised these pardons or for some other reason,” Fanone said. “Tonight, six individuals who assaulted me as I did my job on Jan. 6 … will now walk free.”
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While Trump made repeated promises on the campaign trail to pardon the rioters, it wasn’t certain until Monday whether he would grant clemency to the most violent offenders. Trump said during a Time Magazine interview in December that he would issue pardons within “the first hour” after he took office.
However, Trump stipulated he would look at each case to determine if the individuals were “nonviolent,” implying that people convicted or charged with violent crimes might not receive a pardon.
“I’m going to look if there’s some that really were out of control,” he said in the interview.
As of August, 547 defendants had been charged with assaulting, resisting or impeding officers or employees, including 163 individuals who were charged with using a deadly or dangerous weapon or causing serious bodily injury to an officer, according to the Justice Department.
Eleven people faced charges associated with assaulting a member of the media or destroying their equipment, and 87 defendants were charged with destruction of government property.
Among the hundreds of people who received full pardons was Enrique Tarrio, who was sentenced to 22 years in prison on charges of seditious conspiracy for his role in orchestrating the attack.
Four Proud Boys members tried alongside Tarrio were included on the list of 14 people who had their sentences commuted. They are: Army veteran Joseph Biggs, Marine veterans Dominic Pezzola and Zachary Rehl and Ethan Nordean, who joined the Navy but didn’t make it past basic training. Biggs, Rehl and Nordean were convicted of seditious conspiracy in 2023, and Pezzola was found guilty of other felonies.
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Trump also commuted the sentence of Stewart Rhodes, an Army veteran and the leader of the Oath Keepers who was sentenced to 18 years in prison. When he founded the Oath Keepers in 2009, Rhodes recruited other veterans, service members, firefighters and police to join his cause.
Prosecutors presented evidence of Rhodes sending encrypted messages to his membership following the 2020 presidential election, telling them to refuse to accept the results. During a call with members, Rhodes outlined a plan to stop the transfer of presidential power, which included preparations for the use of force, according to an indictment.
Other Oath Keepers who received commuted sentences were Army veterans Kenneth Harrelson, Jessica Watkins and Edward Vallejo, as well as Navy veteran Thomas Caldwell. Vallejo was found guilty of seditious conspiracy, while Harrelson, Watkins and Caldwell were convicted of other felony charges.
Nikki Wentling covers disinformation and extremism for Military Times. She’s reported on veterans and military communities for eight years and has also covered technology, politics, health care and crime. Her work has earned multiple honors from the National Coalition for Homeless Veterans, the Arkansas Associated Press Managing Editors and others.
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