President-elect Trump vowed on the campaign trail to pardon rioters accused of storming the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, as Congress certified the 2020 election win of his Democratic opponent.
“The moment we win, we will rapidly review the cases of every political prisoner unjustly victimized by the Harris regime, and I will sign their pardons on day one,” Trump said at a Wisconsin rally in September.
Now, Jan. 6 defendants and their attorneys are hoping he’ll make good on that promise.
More than 1,500 rioters have been charged in connection with the Capitol attack, some 645 of them sentenced to time in prison and 143 of them ordered into home detention.
Among those defendants are 10 individuals who were convicted by juries of seditious conspiracy – plotting to use force to oppose the authority of the U.S. government – for attempting to block the certification of President Biden’s election victory against Trump.
“Every January 6 defendant is hoping and anxious for some relief from President Trump,” said Carmen Hernandez, a defense attorney who has represented several Jan. 6 defendants, including in the conspiracy cases against members of the right-wing extremist Proud Boys and Oath Keepers.
“I will be asking for pardons and commutations,” she added.
Hours after Trump was deemed president-elect, rioter Christopher Carnell asked a federal judge to delay a hearing in his case because relief from Trump is expected to be imminent. Carnell was 18 years old when he participated in the riot and was convicted on charges including disorderly conduct in a restricted building.
His attorney told a federal judge that Trump’s clemency promises on the campaign trail would likely affect her client.
“Mr. Carnell is now awaiting further information from the Office of the President-elect regarding the timing and expected scope of clemency actions relevant to his case,” wrote attorney Marina Medvin.
Another rioter, Jaimee Avery, asked a judge to delay her sentencing after pleading guilty to two counts of parading and picketing at the Capitol. Prosecutors are seeking a month-long prison sentence.
Avery’s public defender, Elizabeth Mullin, wrote that there’s a “real possibility” Trump’s attorney general would dismiss the rioter’s case, or at least handle it “in a very different manner.” Sentencing her now would be unfair, she posited – for several reasons.
“It would create a gross disparity for Ms. Avery to spend even a day in jail when the man who played a pivotal role in organizing and instigating the events of January 6 will now never face consequences for his role in it,” Mullin wrote in a footnote, apparently referencing Trump.
The judges overseeing both cases swiftly denied the requests.
Leaders of the extremist groups that juries determined led the effort to stop the 2020 election certification by violently storming the Capitol are among those angling for relief from the president-elect, as well.
James Lee Bright, an attorney who represented Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes, told The Hill that the original trial team has already begun discussions about relief now that it’s clear Trump will return to the White House.
Rhodes was convicted of seditious conspiracy alongside a deputy, Kelly Meggs, and sentenced to 18 years in prison.
“I am more firmly convinced than ever Stewart Rhodes was unjustly convicted,” Bright said in a text message. “When the opportunity presents itself, I intent (sic) to personally urge President Trump to do the right and honorable thing, to Pardon him immediately.”
Nayib Hassan, an attorney for former Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio, said that “every possible avenue” will be explored to seek Tarrio’s release. Tarrio was also convicted of sedition and sentenced to 22 years in prison — the longest term for any Jan. 6 defendant.
“We are committed to pursuing all legal options available and that justice is served,” said Tarrio attorney Nayib Hassan, adding that he and his client “acknowledge and applaud” Trump’s reelection.
“We look forward to what the future holds, both in terms of the judicial process for our client and the broader political landscape under the new administration,” Hassan continued. “We remain hopeful that the courts will recognize the merits of our appeal, and we are optimistic about what lies ahead.”
While Biden’s Justice Department has decried the Capitol attack as an assault on democracy, devoting extensive resources to conduct one of the largest and most complex prosecutions in the agency’s history, that narrative would starkly shift under Trump.
Mike Davis, founder of the Article 3 Project, which advocates for conservative judges, has reportedly been floated for several positions in Trump’s upcoming administration — including attorney general. He’s called on Trump’s future Justice Department to shut the prosecution down.
“After January 20th, the Trump DOJ must end these political persecutions,” Davis wrote on the social media platform X. “And President Trump should pardon or commute the sentences of all January 6th defendants.”
Other Trump loyalists in the running for attorney general, like Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah), have been similarly critical of Jan. 6 scrutiny.
With Trump’s pardon power on the horizon, some Jan. 6 defendants took their celebrations to social media instead of a courtroom.
Jenny Cudd was sentenced to two months of probation after pleading guilty to one count of entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds. In a teary video posted to X in the early hours of Nov. 6, she celebrated Trump’s win as a victory for all Jan. 6 defendants.
“It means the world to all of us J6ers to know that what we did was not in vain — and all of the pain and suffering and the families torn apart and the lives destroyed was not done in vain,” Cudd said.
“And we’re all really excited that we’re about to get presidential pardons.”