Washington, Mar 13: Former President Donald Trump has vowed that he will free all the people who are imprisoned in connection with the January 6 Capitol Riots, on the very first day of assuming office, Fox News reported. Referring to the Capitol Riots accused as “hostages”, Trump said that closing the southern border would also be one of his first acts as the President.“My first acts as your next President will be to Close the Border, DRILL, BABY, DRILL, and Free the January 6 Hostages being wrongfully imprisoned!” Trump wrote on his social media platform Truth Social late Monday. Notably, over 1,350 people have been charged in nearly all 50 US States for crimes related to the breach of the US Capitol, according to the US Department of Justice, after rioters stormed the building to protest former President Trump’s election loss and the validity of Biden’s win, as reported by Fox News.
Of those, at least 560 defendants received sentences while at least 335 were sentenced to periods of incarceration, the DOJ said in a January update. Nearly 490 individuals were charged with assaulting or impeding law enforcement, a felony, according to the latest Dept. of Justice figures.
Further investigation is underway. Trump’s vow to free the prisoners comes as a new report detailing a “hidden transcript” claims that the January 6 congressional committee allegedly “falsely claimed” that it did not have evidence to show that Trump administration requested National Guard assistance.
Meanwhile, Trump himself is facing a federal trial in Washington, DC, on charges of conspiring to overturn the 2020 election loss to remain in power and is challenging it on the grounds that he is immune from criminal prosecution. He is also facing charges in Georgia over his efforts to overturn the state’s 2020 election results, in a case being spearheaded by embattled Fulton County District Attorney Fanni Willis.
Trump has repeatedly promised to pardon those convicted of crimes related to the Capitol riot. A federal appeals court in Washington, DC, has ruled that some criminal defendants who were charged in connection with the Capitol riot had their sentences “improperly increased.”
The US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit recently ruled that defendant Larry Brock’s sentence improperly included charges of “interference with the administration of justice.”
The longest sentence was handed down to former Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio, who was sentenced to 22 years in prison after being found guilty of seditious conspiracy by a jury in Washington, DC. Three other leaders of the Proud Boys were each sentenced to between 15 and 18 years, Fox News reported.