The ex-president Donald Trump promised to pardon those who participated in the violent assault on the Capitol American if he wins the presidency again.
“If I run and win, we will treat those people on January 6 fairly,” Trump declared at an event in Conroe, Texas.
“And if pardons are required, I will give them pardons because they are being treated so unfairly,” he added.
It was Trump’s latest attempt to play down the worst attack on the US government since the War of 1812.
That day, January 6, 2021, supporters of the then president broke windows, attacked police officers and forced legislators and their aides to flee. The assailants were trying to prevent the certification of Democrat Joe Biden as president.
More than 700 people have been arrested and criminally charged in connection with the riot, marking the largest investigation ever undertaken by the Justice Department. Among them are more than 150 accused of assaulting police officers, more than 50 accused of conspiracy and sedition charges against the founding leader of the far-right Oath Keepers militia and 10 other members or associates.
More than 100 police officers were injured, some seriously.
The event unfolded after Trump organized a rally near there, falsely claiming that there was electoral fraud.
Some Republicans criticized Trump for offering the pardons.
Sen. Susan Collins (Maine) said it is “highly unlikely” that she would support an eventual Trump candidacy in 2024.
“January 6 was a dark day in our history,” Collins told ABC’s “This Week” show.
“We must let the judicial process take its course,” he added.
Another Republican senator, Lindsey Graham, of South Carolina, also rejected Trump’s comments, saying it is inappropriate to suggest that it is acceptable to attack Capitol Hill.
In reference to the attackers, “I hope they go to jail, that the full weight of the law is applied to them, because they deserve it,” Graham said on CBS’s “Face the Nation” program.
When he was president, Trump used his pardon power to benefit numerous friends and political allies. Trump has criticized the investigation that the House of Representatives is carrying out on the insurrection.
Trump, who was impeached for his role in the insurrection – and was exonerated by the Senate – has been raising the possibility of running again in the 2024 election.
Source: Gestion
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