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Vance insisted in an interview on “Fox News Sunday” that the
pardon question is “very simple," saying those who “protested
peacefully” should be pardoned and “if you committed violence on
that day, obviously you shouldn’t be pardoned.” He later said
there was a “bit of a gray area” in some cases.
Trump said he would issue pardons to rioters on “Day 1” of his
presidency, which begins Jan. 20. “Most likely, I’ll do it very
quickly,” he said recently on NBC’s “Meet the Press.” He added
that “those people have suffered long and hard. And there may be
some exceptions to it. I have to look. But, you know, if
somebody was radical, crazy.”
More than 1,500 people have been charged with federal crimes
stemming from the siege that left more than 100 police officers
injured and sent lawmakers running into hiding as they met to
certify Democrat Joe Biden’s 2020 victory.
Hundreds of people who did not engage in destruction or violence
were charged only with misdemeanor offenses for illegally
entering the Capitol. Others were charged with felony offenses,
including assault for beating police officers. Leaders of the
Oath Keepers and the Proud Boys extremist groups were convicted
of seditious conspiracy for what prosecutors described as plots
to use violence to stop the peaceful transfer of power from
Trump, the Republican incumbent, to Biden.
In a post on X, Vance responded to criticism from supporters of
the Capitol rioters that his position did not go far enough to
free all convicted. “I’ve been defending these guys for years,”
he said.
“The president saying he’ll look at each case (and me saying the
same) is not some walkback,” Vance said. “I assure you, we care
about people unjustly locked up. Yes, that includes people
provoked and it includes people who got a garbage trial.”
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