What to Know About Trump’s Broad Grant of Clemency to Jan. 6 Rioters

President Trump granted three different types of reprieve on Monday to all of the nearly 1,600 people who faced prosecution for the attack on the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.

He issued formal pardons to hundreds of rioters convicted of any crimes connected to Jan. 6, starting at the low end with offenses like trespassing and disorderly conduct and increasing in severity to assaulting police officers and seditious conspiracy.

Mr. Trump also commuted the sentences of 14 members of two far-right groups, the Proud Boys and the Oath Keepers militia. Most of those defendants were convicted on sedition charges and were serving prison terms of up to 18 years. Under the commutations, their sentences will be reduced to time served.

In a separate but related move, Mr. Trump ordered his Justice Department to dismiss any criminal indictments that remained pending against Jan. 6 defendants. And he directed the Bureau of Prisons to “immediately implement” his clemency grants, meaning that the 240 or so rioters behind bars could be released as early as Monday night.

Misdemeanor Defendants

Mr. Trump’s pardons and his demands for cases to be dismissed covered about 1,000 nonviolent offenders — the largest single group granted clemency. Those defendants were charged only with misdemeanor counts associated with the Capitol attack like breaching the restricted grounds of the Capitol or illegally entering the building itself, but were never accused of breaking anything or hurting anyone.

But even though they may not have committed acts of violence, a federal appeals court has ruled that each person who joined the mob on Jan. 6, “no matter how modestly behaved,” still contributed to the chaos at the Capitol.