Within hours of taking office on Monday, President Donald Trump announced that he had pardoned nearly everyone charged in the January 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol — a striking and bold decision that will impact dozens of defendants in Pennsylvania and New York. Jersey, including some convicted of committing acts of violence while ransacking the halls of American government.
Sitting in the Oval Office on Monday evening, Trump signed documents that he said would effectively eliminate criminal cases against “approximately 1,500 people” and commute the sentences of six others.
Moments later, the White House issued a statement with various details, saying that Trump commuted the sentences of 14 people – including Philadelphia native Zach Rehl, a leader of a local Proud Boys chapter who was convicted of seditious conspiracy – and granted “full, total and unconditional pardons to all other people” convicted of crimes ” related to the fight at the Capitol.
Speaking to reporters while signing a series of executive orders Monday evening, Trump again criticized the federal prosecutors who pursued the criminal cases against the Jan. 6 defendants, saying the defendants were “hostages” who were “treated so badly.”
“These people were destroyed,” Trump said, adding: “What [prosecutors] what they did to these people was outrageous.”
Trump promised pardons for Capitol Hill defendants during the campaign and repeated that promise after defeating Kamala Harris in the November election. This assistance will cover more than 150 people from Pennsylvania and New Jersey who have been charged in the Justice Department’s ongoing, wide-scale investigation into the brutal attack on January 6, a tumultuous riot that sought to block the certification of Joe Biden’s 2020 electoral victory. In total, prosecutors brought charges against over 1,500 people.
The changes were granted to members of the Oath Keepers and Proud Boys, groups that prosecutors say were responsible for inciting the violence at the Capitol. Some were convicted of the infrequent charge of sedition, and Rehl was among those given long prison sentences.
Meanwhile, hundreds of people convicted and imprisoned for other grave crimes have been pardoned – including assaults on police officers – and Trump said those who remained behind bars on Monday would be released soon. The White House statement said the attorney general would be instructed to secure the “immediate release” of all people currently in prison for crimes related to the events of Jan. 6.
“Frankly, we hope they come out tonight,” Trump said in the Oval Office. “They expect it.”
More than 800 other people have been charged with misdemeanors for their roles in the riots, and the pardon will eliminate any criminal consequences arising from these cases, even for people whose sentences have already ended. Most of these defendants were charged or convicted of crimes including trespassing, disorderly conduct, parading, demonstrating or picketing on Capitol grounds.
Trump also ordered federal prosecutors to drop pending criminal cases involving more than 300 people awaiting trial or sentencing.
The decision to grant a full pardon was an extraordinary event in a divisive chapter of American history. Trump has long accused the Justice Department of conducting a politically motivated and corrupt investigation into the attack on the Capitol described some of the accused as “patriots” and “hostages”, trying to downplay the seriousness of today’s chaos. Special Counsel Jack Smith accused Trump led the effort to stay in power after losing the 2020 election, but dropped the case after Trump won re-election in 2024, arguing that Justice Department policy prohibits prosecution of sitting presidents.
Trump suggested he would offer some form of facilitate to the Jan. 6 defendants when he returned to the White House, but the extent of his decision remained unclear until hours after he took the oath of office for a second term on Monday afternoon.
His actions were immediately criticized by Democrats, including Pennsylvania Republican Brendan Boyle, who said Trump had committed a “shameful betrayal” and effectively supported those who committed violence against law enforcement.
“What a disgrace to our country and our Constitution that Donald Trump pardoned criminals who brutally attacked police officers, ransacked the Capitol and attempted to overturn a free and fair election,” Boyle said in a statement. “These thugs didn’t just break the law – they attacked the very foundations of our democracy.”
Dwight Evans, a Democrat from Philadelphia, was similarly scathing in a statement sent to The Inquirer, saying: “On his first day back in office, the convicted president released criminals who brutally attacked police officers and attempted to overturn the law of Pennsylvania citizens. votes. I’m disgusted.”
Meanwhile, New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker told CNN that Trump’s decision constituted a “staggering dereliction of duty” and “cast a big shadow” over the start of Trump’s modern term.
“I’m just deeply disappointed and angry that he chose to start this way,” Booker said.
Perhaps the most striking local beneficiary of Trump’s actions was Rehl, a Port Richmond native and one of the leaders of the far-right group Proud Boys, which the group’s prosecutors say helped incite the attack. In 2023, he and three other men were found guilty of charges including seditious conspiracy to incite a mob that stormed the Capitol, and Rehl was sentenced to 15 years in federal prison – one of the longest sentences imposed on each defendant on January 6.
It was unclear Monday evening when he might be released from prison. His lawyer, Norm Pattis, said in an interview just before 10 p.m. that he wasn’t sure when Rehl would be released, but “in my understanding he should be released at any time.”
Ryan Samsel, a Bucks County resident who federal prosecutors say was another instigator of the riot, was also to be spared. He was convicted last year of crimes including assaulting a police officer, and over the weekend prosecutors said they were seeking a 20-year prison sentence. It now appears unlikely that Samsel’s sentencing hearing, scheduled for next month, will go ahead.
Meanwhile, Julian Khater – a Somerset, New Jersey native who ran a cocktail shop in State College, Pennsylvania – will likely end his six-year prison sentence early. Khater pleaded guilty in 2022 to using pepper spray on police officers trying to protect the Capitol.
Dozens of other residents also pleaded guilty to misdemeanor charges, mostly for entering the Capitol after a mob breached the building and sometimes for recording videos or entering the offices of elected officials.
According to the Office of Pardons, a presidential pardon does not erase a criminal case, but the pardon is added to the case file and any restrictions resulting from the conviction – such as restrictions on voting or running for public office – are lifted. Advocate.
Meanwhile, commutation keeps the conviction intact but ends or reduces the defendant’s sentence and may open the door to release from prison.
As Trump prepared to return to the White House, some of the Jan. 6 defendants sought to delay hearings while awaiting a pardon. Others have asked the court to allow them to attend Trump’s inauguration.
Meanwhile, Biden made extensive operate of his presidential pardon power during his final days in office. On Monday, in an unprecedented move, he granted a preventive pardon to five members of his family who he feared might become targets for prosecution by the future Trump administration.
Staff writer Julia Terruso contributed to this article.
