President Donald Trump pardoned nearly all of the Jan. 6 defendants on Monday night, after pledging to sign an executive order on the issue during his inaugural parade.
Sitting at his resolute desk in the Oval Office, President Trump signed the release of more than 1,500 people charged with crimes stemming from the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. The order requires the Federal Bureau of Prisons to act immediately upon receiving a pardon.
“Tonight, I’m going to sign the J6 hostages, please allow us to release them,” Trump said at a parade at Capital One Arena in Washington. “I’m going to go to the Oval Office and sign pardons for a lot of people.”
Among those pardoned is former Proud Boys chairman Enrique Tarrio, who was sentenced to 22 years in prison for conspiracy to insurrection. Tarrio’s lawyer told The Associated Press that he expects Tarrio to be released Monday night.
Trump previously promised to “move very quickly” on his first day in office to pardon so-called “hostages.”
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President Donald Trump holds up an executive order after signing it during an indoor presidential inaugural parade event in Washington, Monday, Jan. 20, 2025. (Matt Rourke/Associated Press)
Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) called President Trump’s pardon “a disgrace” and forgot the “courage” of law enforcement “heroes” who “guaranteed the survival of our democracy.” He said no.
Pelosi, who did not attend Trump’s inauguration on Monday, said in a statement: “The president’s actions are a tribute to our nation’s justice system and to the heroes who suffered physical scars and emotional trauma defending our nation’s Capitol, our Congress, and our Constitution.” It’s an incredible insult to them.” Posted on X, formerly known as Twitter.
“It is shameful that the president has made the abandonment and betrayal of police officers one of his top priorities, risking their lives to thwart attempts to subvert the peaceful transfer of power,” Pelosi said. Ta.
The pardon was one of more than 200 executive orders that President Trump was scheduled to sign on Inauguration Day. Other orders he signed on Monday include withdrawing the United States from the Paris Climate Accord, which the United States first signed in 2015 under the administration of former President Barack Obama.
Trump previously pulled the US out of the deal during his first term in 2020.
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The pardon was one of more than 200 executive orders that President Trump was scheduled to sign on Inauguration Day. (Mark Schiefelbein/Associated Press)
On Monday morning, then-President Joe Biden announced a series of pardons hours before President Trump was sworn in at the U.S. Capitol. Among those Biden has pardoned is retired general Mark Milley, the former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, whom Trump has accused of treason. Others pardoned by Biden include those involved in the Jan. 6 task force investigation into the attack.
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President Donald Trump previously promised to “move very quickly” to pardon so-called “hostages” on his first day in office. (Carlos Barria/Reuters)
“The issuance of these pardons should not be misconstrued as an admission that an individual has engaged in any wrongdoing, nor should acceptance of a pardon be misconstrued as an admission of guilt of any crime,” Biden said in a statement. Not,” he said. “Our nation owes these public servants a debt of gratitude for their tireless service to our country.”
FOX News’ Anders Hagström and Brooke Singman contributed to this report.
Diana Stancey is a political reporter for Fox News Digital, covering the White House.
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