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With the stroke of a pen, President Donald Trump on Jan. 20 granted clemency — either a pardon or commuted sentence — to all of the more than 1,500 people charged in connection with the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot. But at an Oval Office signing event and in a Fox News interview, Trump made several misleading or false claims while explaining the reason for his decision.
Trump referred to those jailed for criminal offenses on Jan. 6 as “hostages,” but the roughly 400 people who were still incarcerated at the time of Trump’s inauguration had either pleaded guilty or were found guilty by a jury or judge of crimes on Jan. 6, many for violent felonies.
He said there were “very minor incidents” against law enforcement officers on Jan. 6. Whether the attacks on police were “minor” is a matter of opinion, but more than 140 police officers were assaulted, according to the Justice Department. We’ll lay out the facts.