Trump says pardoning Capitol attackers will be one of his first acts if elected again

Donald Trump has said one of his first acts if given a second presidency would be to pardon the insurrectionists who carried out the January 6 attack on the US Capitol, referring to them as “hostages” in a Truth Social post on Monday night.

“My first acts as your next President will be to Close the Border, DRILL, BABY, DRILL, and Free January 6 Hostages being wrongfully imprisoned!” Trump wrote.

Though he has long said he will dismiss charges against the rioters if elected, the post is the closest Trump has come to saying that pardons for the Capitol attack rioters is a first-day priority, along with oil and gas drilling as well as a crackdown at the US-Mexico border. Trump’s post came after he has implied that he plans to be a “dictator” on his first day back in office if returned to the White House after losing to Joe Biden in 2020.

“We’re closing the border and we’re drilling, drilling, drilling,” Trump told Fox News’ Sean Hannity at a town hall event in December when asked if he would be a dictator. “After that, I’m not a dictator.”

Trump has emphasized his “drilling” plans on the campaign trail as a way to highlight the inflation that has been seen during Biden’s presidency. Trump has promised to start “drilling” for oil to help temper inflation, though gas prices plunged down to $3 a gallon in 2023, down from a peak of $5 in 2022. US oil production has also hit a record high under Biden.

The Truth Social post is not the first time Trump has referred to those prosecuted for participating in the riots meant to disrupt the congressional certification of Biden’s electoral victory as “hostages”. The former president has been using the term for months in attempts to downplay the attack that left 140 police officers injured