President Trump on Tuesday defended his decision to issue pardons and commutations for the roughly 1,500 people charged with crimes in connection to the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol. “They’ve served years in jail,” the president said when asked by reporters why he pardoned violent offenders. “They should not have served, and they’ve served years in jail.” Many of those pardoned had been convicted of violent attacks on police officers, including one who pleaded guilty to driving a stun gun into the neck of an officer. “We’ll take a look at everything. But I can say this, murderers today are not even charged. You have murderers that aren’t charged all over,” he told reporters when asked about that specific case. “These people have already served years in prison, and they’ve served them viciously. It’s a disgusting prison. It’s been horrible. It’s inhumane.” The president also said members of the Oath Keepers, a far-right militia, were subjected to sentences that were “ridiculous and excessive.” “At least the cases that we looked at, these were people that actually love our country, so we thought a pardon would be appropriate,” he said. The president campaigned on pardoning Jan. 6 defendants, whom he repeatedly referred to as “hostages” and “political prisoners.” Watch more at c-span.org
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