The future US vice president JD Vance said that the people who committed violence during the storming of the Capitol "obviously" will not be pardoned, after future President Donald Trump promised to use his right to pardon many of those detained on January 6, 2021, the Associated Press reported, quoted by BTA.
In an interview with Fox News, Vance emphasized that the issue of pardon is "very simple" and explained that those who "protested peacefully" will be pardoned, and "if you committed violence that day, you obviously will not be pardoned." He later added that in some cases it remains unclear whether violence was involved.
Trump had previously said he would pardon rioters on "the first day" of his inauguration on January 20.
"I'll probably do it very quickly," he recently told NBC. Trump added that "these people have suffered long and hard." More than 1,500 people have been charged with federal crimes related to the siege, which injured more than 100 police officers and forced lawmakers to flee and hide as they gathered to certify Democrat Joe Biden's 2020 victory, the AP reports. Hundreds of people who were not involved in the destruction or violence were charged with only offenses related to illegally entering the Capitol. Others were charged with felony charges, including assault and battery on police officers. Leaders of the far-right groups "Oath Keepers" and "Proud Boys" (Proud Boys) were convicted of conspiracy and incitement to use violence to prevent a peaceful transfer of power from Trump to Biden.