President Donald Trump is preparing to issue sweeping pardons to defendants charged in the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol and intends to cut short sentences for some people who attacked police, a source familiar with the matter said on Monday.
The source did not give details about when Trump planned to do so.
The plan, first reported by ABC News, calls for pardoning those who did not commit violence during the riot at the Capitol, effectively wiping away legal consequences from their convictions.
Trump is also seeking to commute the sentences of some of those convicted of assaults on law enforcement, a move that would not absolve them of guilt but could lead to the release of some rioters currently in prison.
More than 1,580 people have been criminally charged with participating in the riot, a failed attempt by Trump supporters to block the congressional certification of the 2020 election.
Leaders of the far-right Proud Boys and Oath Keepers organizations are among those serving time in federal prison for their roles in the violence. More than 600 people have been charged with assaulting or obstructing police during the riot, according to U.S. Justice Department figures.
Trump vowed during his 2024 campaign to pardon many of those charged, arguing they had been treated unfairly by the legal system.
