Trump calls for those arrested for Jan. 6 attack to be freed immediately

Former President Donald Trump called on Friday for those arrested in connection to the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol to be released, responding to the Supreme Court’s ruling earlier in the day that prosecutors in at least one case improperly charged a defendant.

The Supreme Court’s ruling could have wide-reaching implications for hundreds of defendants charged in connection with the riot.

"Free the [Jan. 6] hostages now. They should free them now for what they've gone through,” Trump said during a rally in Virginia. “They’ve been waiting for this decision for a long time. They’ve been waiting for a long time. That was a great answer, that was a great thing for people who've been so horribly treated.”

The comments came hours after the Supreme Court ruled 6-3 that the federal obstruction charges faced by about 350 Jan. 6 defendants must be dropped if prosecutors cannot prove rioters intended to impede the tallying of physical electoral vote certificates when they stormed the Capitol.

The decision was considered a win for Trump — and his response was an escalation of familiar rhetoric. Last month, he promised to pardon “a large portion” of the rioters “very early on” if he won a second term.

The comments came on the heels of Trump’s debate with President Joe Biden, during which the former president condemned political violence but failed to promise he would accept the results of the 2024 election and reiterated false claims of election fraud in 2020.

Spokespeople for Trump’s campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment.