President Donald Trump takes over oath of office On January 6, 2021, during the last presidential transition of power, a mob of his supporters rioted at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, DC.

Hours after being sworn in Monday, Trump pardoned about 1,500 of those supporters, upending the largest prosecution in the Justice Department’s history.

With the stroke of a pen, he has freed from prison people who were caught on camera viciously attacking police officers and leaders of far-right groups who were convicted of plotting violent plots to prevent the peaceful transfer of power after Trump’s 2020 election defeat.

Let’s take a look back at January 6 and who Trump pardoned this week:

What happened on January 6, 2021?

Trump’s false claims that the election was “rigged” led thousands to storm the Capitol in an attempt to stop the certification of the 2020 presidential election results.

Just before the riot, the Republican incumbent held a rally in Washington, D.C., during which he blasted the election results and urged his supporters to “fight like hell.”

More than 2,000 people entered the Capitol, smashed windows, ransacked offices, defecated in public and searched for members of Congress.

The attack was ultimately unsuccessful, but it did sound alarm bells about stability. american democracy The influence of anti-democratic forces within the Republican Party is growing.

About 1,500 people were arrested for their role in the Capitol attack and jailed in the years that followed.

After an 18-month investigation, a U.S. congressional committee released a nearly 850-page report Report In December 2022 after the expert group’s recommendations criminal charges Opposition to Trump’s own role in the attack.

“At the core of the events of January 6 was one man, former President Donald Trump, and many others followed him. There was no incident January 6 Without him, none of this would have happened,” the panel said.

Who has Trump pardoned?

All but a handful of those jailed for the Jan. 6 riots were granted a “full, complete and unconditional pardon.” announcement Signed by Trump.

“I further direct the Attorney General to dismiss, without prejudice to the government’s interests, all prosecutions of individuals for conduct related to the events that occurred at or near the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021,” the statement said.

The most prominent figures jailed for their actions on January 6, 2021 include leading members of the right-wing groups the Proud Boys and the Oath Keepers.

Enrique TarrioFormer Proud Boys leader sentenced to prison 22 years in prison In September 2023, he was pardoned for his role in the riots. His sentence is the longest in connection with the assault. In his sentencing, U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly called Tarrio the “ultimate leader” of the Jan. 6 conspiracy.

Another riot figure pardoned is ‘QAnon Shaman’ Jake Angeli-ChansleyThe thug, named for his horned headdress, was sentenced to 41 months in prison. He broke the news to X: “I just got the news from my lawyer… I got a pardon, baby!” he declared. “I love this country!!! God bless America!!!”

More than 300 of those pardoned also pleaded guilty to assault or obstruction of law enforcement, 69 of whom admitted assaulting a police officer with a dangerous or deadly weapon.

Nearly 300 rioters had ties to 46 far-right groups or movements, according to a study by the National Alliance for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism, a network of scholars based at the University of Maryland that tracks and analyzes such violence .

Many of the attacks were captured on surveillance or body camera footage, showing rioters engaging in hand-to-hand combat with police who struggled to hold back the angry crowds.

Who has not received full pardon?

In an announcement posted on the White House website, Trump released 14 “Oath Keepers” and “Proud Boys” leaders who were serving long-term sentences, but did not fully pardon them. Their convictions will remain on record.

The only people whose sentences were reduced were:

• Stuart Rhodes: Founder of the Oath Keepers, convicted of seditious conspiracy for organizing armed members to storm the Capitol
• Kelly Meggs: Leader of the Florida chapter of the Oath Keepers, also sentenced for seditious conspiracy
• Kenneth Harrison: An Oath Keepers member was found guilty of “obstructing an official proceeding, conspiring to prevent officials from performing their duties, and tampering with documents or procedures.”
• Thomas Caldwell: A fellow Oath Keeper and U.S. Navy veteran was found guilty of seditious conspiracy for helping to plan the riots
• Jessica Watkins: An Oath Keepers member and veteran convicted of organizing and leading a group into the Capitol was sentenced to six years in prison
• Roberto Minuta: An Oath Keepers member was sentenced to 36 months in prison and 36 months of supervised release for conspiracy to commit sedition and other charges
• Edward Vallejo: Affiliated with the Oath Keepers, but not a member who served 36 months in prison followed by 36 months of supervised release for seditious conspiracy
• David Mercer: An Oath Keepers member was sentenced to 36 months in prison and 36 months of supervised release for conspiracy to commit sedition and other charges
• Joseph Hackett: An Oath Keepers member was sentenced to 42 months in prison and 36 months of supervised release for conspiracy to commit sedition
• Ethan Nordin: Prominent Proud Boys member known as the group’s “war general” was sentenced to 18 years in prison and 36 months of supervised release on multiple felony charges
• Joseph Biggs: Proud Boys organizer sentenced to 17 years in prison and 36 months of supervised release for conspiracy to incite and other charges
• Zachary Lehr: Former Proud Boys chapter president, convicted of seditious conspiracy for leading actions by the group, sentenced to 15 years in prison and 36 months of supervised release
• Dominic Pezzola: A Proud Boys member known for using a stolen police riot shield to smash Capitol windows was sentenced to 10 years in prison and 36 months of supervised release
• Jeremy Bertino: A former Proud Boys member who pleaded guilty to seditious conspiracy and cooperated with investigators

How are people reacting to Trump’s pardon?

As with all things Trump-related, much of the reaction to his pardon fell along party lines.

The White House announcement announcing the pardon said the action “ends the grave national injustice that has been suffered by the American people over the past four years and begins a process of national reconciliation.”

Trump defended the pardons on Tuesday, saying the defendants “have been in prison for years,” and the president called them “disgusting” and “inhumane.”

Many Trump supporters praised the pardons in right-wing online forums. Some threatened those who supported the prosecution.

On the pro-Trump website Patriots.Win, at least two dozen people expressed a desire to execute Democrats, judges or law enforcement in connection with the Jan. 6 case. They called for jurists or police officers to be hanged, “beaten to death,” “crushed with wood chippers” or “thrown from helicopters.”

“Gather the entire federal judiciary into a stadium. Then let them listen and watch a judge get beaten to death,” one wrote. “Cut their heads off and hang them on pikes outside the Ministry of Justice.”

Several experts said the reversal against rioters who committed violent and nonviolent crimes, including attacks on police and sedition, could embolden the Proud Boys and other far-right groups, such as white supremacists who openly call for political violence.

“They feel like they can do whatever they want,” Julie Farnam, who served as the assistant director of intelligence for the U.S. Capitol Police during the Jan. 6 riot, said of far-right groups.

“They would feel like they could because there was no leadership in the United States trying to stop it,” said Farnham, who now runs a private investigation agency.

Two police officers who were beaten while trying to stop the crowd said the pardons were a chilling sign that loyalty to Trump now takes precedence over the rule of law.

“It’s outrageous,” former Washington, D.C., police officer Michael Fanone told Reuters. Fanon was beaten, sprayed with a chemical irritant and shocked with a stun gun during the violence on January 6, causing a heart attack and brain damage.

Fanon, 44, who served as a police officer for 20 years, said a pardon would inspire other supporters to commit violence “because they believe Donald Trump will pardon them. Why wouldn’t they believe that?”

What do the pardoned prisoners say?

After being released from federal custody on Tuesday, Rhodes and other Jan. 6 defendants gathered in freezing weather outside the District of Columbia jail, where a handful of defendants remain incarcerated. Some supporters of the Capitol rioters danced as songs like Thin Lizzy’s “Jailbreak” played from the loudspeakers.

Rhodes continued to promote false claims that the 2020 election was stolen from Trump and claimed that Capitol riot defendants were denied a fair trial in Washington, D.C. Rhodes said he had “full confidence” that Trump would grant clemency to the Jan. 6 defendants.

Angelique Chansley celebrated on social media platform X after the pardon: “Thank you President Trump!”

Kevin Loftus was sentenced to six months in prison in December after violating the terms of his probation by trying to fly overseas to join the Russian military and fight in Ukraine. He said he would receive a pardon from Trump.

“I’m just a worker, man. People like us don’t get presidential pardons,” he said.