Fact Check: Trump Promised to Pardon Jan. 6 Capitol Rioters on Day 1 of Presidency
Claim:
President-elect Donald Trump promised to pardon rioters who were convicted after storming the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.
Rating:
Context:
Trump said on many occasions he would pardon the rioters, without offering specifics. In 2023, he said he was "inclined to pardon many of them," though not all. He added he likely would not pardon a few who "got out of control."
In December 2024, when U.S. President Joe Biden pardoned his son Hunter Biden, who had faced sentencing in two criminal cases, many people wondered whether President-elect Donald Trump would use his presidential powers in a similar way. Referring to Trump's past statements, social media posts claimed he had promised to pardon his supporters convicted of criminal charges after they rioted at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, to protest what they had been told was a fraudulent election and to stop the counting of electoral votes by Congress.
For example, a Dec. 2, 2024, X post from a pro-Trump account claimed: "BREAKING: President Trump just stated he will pardon all January 6th political prisoners on first day in office."
Another post compared Trump's expected future pardon of his supporters to Biden pardoning his son, writing: "While the pearl clutchers on the right gasp at President Biden pardoning his son Hunter, remember that Hunter NEVER stormed the Capitol, unlike the thugs that Trump promised to pardon."
(X user @CharlieKNews)
(X user @ReallyAmerican1)
Trump indeed promised on several occasions to pardon Capitol rioters, though not necessarily all of them. As such, we rate this claim as true. Below, we highlight some of his many statements on the issue.
Previous Statements by Trump
On Dec. 1, 2024, after Biden announced he had pardoned his son, Trump posted on his social media app, Truth Social: "Does the Pardon given by Joe to Hunter include the J-6 Hostages, who have now been imprisoned for years? Such an abuse and miscarriage of Justice!" (By "Hostages," he meant those imprisoned after being convicted of crimes related to the attack on the Capitol.)
At the National Association of Black Journalists convention in July 2024, when Trump was asked whether he would pardon the rioters who attacked police officers, he said, "Absolutely." He then added, "If they were innocent, I would pardon them," to which the journalist said, "They were convicted."
Trump replied, "They were convicted by a very tough system."
The exchange can be seen at the 32:40 mark of this video of the event:
On Mar. 11, 2024, Trump wrote on Truth Social: "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!"
On May 11, 2023, during a CNN town hall (transcript below), Trump answered questions about pardoning the rioters, some of whom were members of the Proud Boys, a white supremacist group. Trump said he would pardon many of the rioters and would have to "look" at some of the cases because they did not get a "fair trial" (emphasis ours):
BEYER: My question to you is: Will you pardon the Jan. 6 rioters who were convicted of federal offenses?
TRUMP: I am inclined to pardon many of them. I can't say for every single one because a couple of them, probably, they got out of control.
But, you know, when you look at Antifa, what they've done to Portland, and if you look at Antifa, look at what they've done to Minneapolis and so many other — so many other places, look at what they did to Seattle. And BLM — BLM, many people were killed.
These people — I'm not trying to justify anything, but you have two standards of justice in this country, and what they've done — and I love that question because what they've done to see many people is nothing — nothing. And then what they've done to these people, they've persecuted these people.
And yeah, my answer is I am most likely — if I get in, I will most likely — I would say it will be a large portion of them. You know, they did a very —
And it'll be very early on. And they're living in hell right now.
[…]
COLLINS: Mr. President, one of the people who was convicted was a former policeman but he was convicted of attacking a police officer, I should note.
But when you said you are considering pardoning a large portion of those charged with crimes on Jan. 6, does that include the four Proud Boys members who were charged and convicted of seditious conspiracy?
TRUMP: I don't know. I'll have to look at their case, but I will say in Washington, D.C., you cannot get a fair trial, you cannot. Just like in New York City, you can't get a fair trial either.
Trump had spoken in support of the rioters even in 2022. During a rally that January in Conroe, Texas, before he officially announced he would be running for president again, Trump said, "Another thing we'll do, and so many people have been asking me about it, if I run and if I win, we will treat those people from Jan. 6 fairly. We will treat them fairly. And if it requires pardons we will give them pardons. Because they are being treated so unfairly."
In statements about the rioters, Trump repeatedly referred to those convicted and imprisoned as "hostages." Trump has not, however, given specifics about what criteria he would use to decide whom to pardon.
Sources:
"Capitol Rioters' Families Draw Hope from Trump's Promise of Pardons." BBC, 5 Apr. 2024. www.bbc.com, https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-68632188. Accessed 4 Dec. 2024.
"FULL VIDEO: Trump Answers Questions at Black Journalists' Convention NABJ in Chicago ." YouTube, KTVU, 31 July 2024, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d-ihCI_lApA. Accessed 4 Dec. 2024.
Ibrahim, Nur. "Biden Repeatedly Said He Would Not Pardon His Son, Hunter." Snopes, 3 Dec. 2024, https://www.snopes.com//fact-check/biden-pardons-son-hunter/. Accessed 4 Dec. 2024.
Lee, Jessica. "Who Are the Proud Boys Trump Told To 'Stand Back and Stand By'?" Snopes, 7 Oct. 2020, https://www.snopes.com//news/2020/10/07/proud-boys-explained/. Accessed 4 Dec. 2024.
"READ: Transcript of CNN's Town Hall with Former President Donald Trump." CNN, 11 May 2023, https://www.cnn.com/2023/05/11/politics/transcript-cnn-town-hall-trump/index.html. Accessed 4 Dec. 2024.
"Trump Says He Would Pardon Jan. 6 Rioters If He Runs and Wins." Reuters, 30 Jan. 2022. www.reuters.com, https://www.reuters.com/world/us/trump-says-he-would-pardon-jan-6-rioters-if-he-runs-wins-2022-01-30/. Accessed 4 Dec. 2024.
"US Capitol Riots: What Happened and Who Has Been Punished?" BBC, 2 Aug. 2022. www.bbc.com, https://www.bbc.com/news/world-60265900. Accessed 4 Dec. 2024.
