(WASHINGTON) — President Donald Trump is preparing to issue a sweeping series of pardons for defendants charged in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol, including commuting the prison sentences of hundreds of his supporters who have been convicted of violent attacks against law enforcement, sources familiar with the matter told ABC News.
The planned commutations for those who attacked police goes well beyond what many of his allies anticipated he would be prepared to extend to the Jan. 6 defendants — and paves the way for potentially hundreds of supporters, some sentenced to years behind bars for vicious assaults on police — to be released in the coming days.
An incoming senior White House official did not immediately respond to a request for comment from ABC News.
In addition to the commutations, Trump plans to extend full pardons to his supporters who were not charged with engaging in violence on Jan. 6. Sources tell ABC News that some of Trump’s top advisers have been pushing him for days to issue these sweeping pardons.
Sources also caution that until Trump formally signs the pardon paperwork, it’s possible that the expected language could change or be scaled back.
Sources tell ABC News that hundreds of individuals currently serving prison time for violent offenses they committed on Jan. 6 will be freed as a result — and the commutations will likely extend to two of the most high-profile defendants charged in connection with the attack, Oath Keepers Founder Stewart Rhodes and Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio.
The two received prison sentences of 18 years and 22 years, respectively, following their convictions for leading members of their respective groups in a seditious conspiracy to thwart the lawful transfer of power.
Trump is expected to further direct the incoming attorney general to move to dismiss all pending indictments against Jan. 6 defendants who have not yet had their cases fully adjudicated, which would shutter roughly 470 ongoing cases, according to recently released numbers by the District of Columbia U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Current and former DOJ officials have expressed alarm over the potential that Trump would hand down pardons — or otherwise free — violent offenders, citing the potential risk they could seek to target the prosecutors who oversaw their cases, the judges who sentenced them to periods of incarceration, or witnesses who may have testified against them.
Trump teased the pardons Sunday at his victory rally at Capital One Arena, telling his supporters that they will be “very happy” with his decision.
“Tomorrow, everybody in this very large arena will be very happy with my decision on the J6 hostages,” Trump said “Very happy. I think you’ll be very, very happy. I would say about 99.9% in this beautiful arena.”
A violent mob of pro-Trump protesters stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6, fighting with officers, breaking into offices and destroying property.
After the attack on the U.S. Capitol by rioters seeking to overturn the 2020 election, more than 1,580 people were charged criminally in federal court, according to the Department of Justice. Over 1,000 have pleaded guilty.
Trump’s team had drafted a list of potential pardons for Jan. 6 defendants to issue on Day 1, sources familiar with the matter told ABC News on Sunday.
Of the nearly 1,600 individuals have faced charges associated with the Capitol attack, according to figures released by the U.S. Attorney’s Office, 608 individuals have faced charges for assaulting, resisting or interfering with law enforcement trying to protect the complex that day, the office said. Approximately 140 law enforcement officers were injured during the riot, the DOJ has said.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office said it is evaluating whether to bring charges in roughly 200 cases that have been referred to them by the FBI, about 60 of which involve potential felony charges involving allegations of assault or impeding law enforcement.
Trump said last March that he was “inclined to pardon many” of the rioters.
At least 221 individuals have been found guilty at contested trials in U.S. District Court, the DOJ said. Another 40 individuals have been convicted following an agreed-upon set of facts presented to and accepted by the Court.
President Joe Biden on Monday issued preemptive pardons to potential targets of the incoming Trump administration, including lawmakers who served on the House Jan. 6 Committee.
Trump, in his 2024 campaign, repeatedly vowed “retribution” on his political enemies, specifically singling out lawmakers like Liz Cheney, who investigated the attack on the Capitol. Trump said Cheney and other committee members should be put in jail.
ABC News’ Meredith Deliso and Katherine Faulders contributed to this report.
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