Incarcerated January 6 rioters who have been charged with crimes related to their actions during the Capitol insurrection have every reason to believe that President Trump will release them on his first day in office. He has said he will, multiple times. When asked in April whether he would consider releasing “every one of them,” he replied, “ I would consider that, yes.”
If Trump pardons or commutes the sentences of the convicted January 6 participants, his primary motivation will be to legitimize his own insurrectionist activities on January 6. Even today, he claims his speech and instructions to the speech-goers on the Ellipse were “perfect,” and that the 2020 election was clearly rigged. Pardoning the January 6 participants will also make a mockery of our justice system, and it will send the message to his followers that violence is a legitimate response to political outcomes they don’t like. (Read GPAHE’s testimonies to the House Select Committee January 6 on the Proud Boys and The Road to January 6.)
Before Trump was elected this past Tuesday he promised many times to release January 6 rioters who have been sentenced to prison terms, calling them “hostages,” “unbelievable patriots,” and “warriors.” At the National Association of Black Journalists conference, he said, “Oh, absolutely, I would. If they’re innocent, I would pardon them. They were convicted by a very tough system.” This, of course, is the same system that had also charged Trump with crimes related to his own actions on January 6.
Trump has fundraised for the January 6 arrestees and regularly praised them. He also publicly hugged a woman, an election denialist and QAnon conspiracist, who has already completed her prison sentence, who said, ”The punishment for treason is death, per the Constitution. I believe every single person, every single person that stole a voice from our collective voice of ‘We the people, of the people, for the people, by the people,’ deserves death, and no less than that.” The woman added that she “would like a front seat of Mike Pence being executed” and that he should be the “No. 1” person on her list of those who committed treason.
And Trump has even underscored his commitment to pardoning these prisoners by playing a song called “Justice for All,” sung by the so-called “J6 Prison Choir” at his campaign events.
So it’s no wonder that the night of the November 5, 2024, election, one of the January 6er prisoners, Jake Lang, who was charged with repeatedly assaulting law enforcement, posted on Twitter, “IM COMING HOME!!!! THE JANUARY 6 POLITICAL PRISONERS ARE FINALLY COMING HOME!!!! IN THE MIGHTY NAME OF JESUS TAKE THESE SHACKLES OFF MY FEET!!! In just 75 days on January 20th 2025, when Donald J Trump is inaugurated as the 47th President of the United States, he will pardon all of the J6 Hostages.”
Jacob Lang on Jan. 6, 2021, at the Capitol. Source: FBI
Also celebrating possible pardons were several Proud Boys chapters, whose former national leader, Enrique Tarrio, received a 22-year sentence for plotting to prevent the peaceful transfer of power. Proud Boys USA shared a video and called for, “FREE ENRIQUE TARRIO!!! FREE ALL J6 PRISONERS NOW!!! PARDON EVERYONE!!!” Posted to the Telegram account of Chairman Elect Enrique Tarrio was a plea, “We have brothers suffering today, who are still locked in cells, despite yesterday’s victory. This all means nothing if they’re not free to celebrate it with us. Keep them in your prayers and continue to fight until every J6 prisoner is released from prison and this nightmare is finally over.”
Posted on Gab, a Jan. 6 supporter said, “I cant wait to see all of these prisoners freed and vindicated. Next we take down and penalize everyone involved in persecuting these fine Patriots…including the prison Warden and all the Stazi guards that participated. Also, Pelosi must be freaking out right now.” And on 4chan, a supporter said, “Release the J6 prisoners and make room for all the lefties that will take those cells soon.”
Proud Boys USA shared a video of conspiracist Tim Pool calling for the release of Tarrio. Source: Telegram
But most telling of the posts about the Jan 6ers was an open letter on Telegram to all those who were planning to attend the January 2025 inauguration and/or protest for the release of the convicted Jan 6 actors. The letter implores people not to go to D.C. or make a lot of noise about releasing the prisoners, as it would likely jeopardize pardons.
“An open letter to anyone (especially the people larping as Proud Boys) going to DC or anywhere else trying to convince DJT to Free our Boys:
While you may think your efforts are noble or you want to feel that without your efforts DJT won’t follow through with his promise to free the hostages. It will likely have the opposite effect.
President DJT has already promised this and your time between now and when the Pardons are signed for the hostages being held throughout our country are better spent praying and having faith that this will be one of his first actions after the inauguration. It’s known that there are 99 people “Going to Trump 24 Inauguration.” Please don’t jeopardize our Boys release. There are influencers, such as Tucker and Tim Pool, with a much larger platform that are already spreading the message. Our guys have suffered enough. Stay home or patronize your local watering hole and celebrate the inauguration of our President and the imminent release of our Boys.”
Proud Boys and Jan 6er supporters are likely right to question whether or not Trump will follow through with his promises. They, like everyone else, have seen Trump change his mind or abandon a promise when it’s no longer politically expedient. And it’s possible this groundwork is already being laid. Trump’s press secretary’s statement saying, “As President Trump has promised, he will pardon January 6th protestors who are wrongfully imprisoned by Crooked Joe Biden’s Justice Department, and those decisions will be determined on a case-by-case basis when he is back in the White House” was not completely encouraging. Nor was Trump’s own statement, “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. If somebody was evil and bad, I would look at that differently.”
How far Trump is willing to go to legitimize his own insurrectionist actions on January 6, 2021, by pardoning and commuting the sentences of convicted January 6 participants remains to be seen. Pardoning the January 6 people will illustrate the tone for his entire administration and its commitment to rule of law.
