Extremist supporters of Donald Trump who attacked the US Capitol on 6 January 2021 or were involved in planning the insurrection began leaving prison on Tuesday, after the newly installed president issued sweeping pardons shortly after being sworn in on Monday.
The Republican president’s pardon of 1,500 defendants drew outrage from lawmakers who were endangered in the attack, when thousands of Trump supporters stormed the Capitol in an unsuccessful attempt to prevent Congress from certifying his 2020 loss to Joe Biden.
Two of the biggest names of the far right and the most serious offenders tied to the plot, Enrique Tarrio of the Proud Boys and the former Oath Keeper Steward Rhodes, were both set free on Tuesday.
Rhodes, the former leader of the Oath Keepers militia who had his 18-year prison sentence for seditious conspiracy commuted, was released just after midnight on Tuesday in Cumberland, Maryland.
He did not enter the US Capitol during the mob’s breach but was found guilty of plotting to use force against Congress to try to prevent the election certification of Biden’s victory over Trump. He was also accused of helping to stockpile firearms at a hotel in nearby Virginia that could be ferried across the river to Washington.
Tarrio was serving a 22-year sentence. He also did not take part in the breach of the Capitol but was convicted of orchestrating the plots to stop the peaceful transfer of power. The two men’s attorneys on Tuesday confirmed their release.
At a press conference on Tuesday, Trump was asked whether there was a place in politics for the Proud Boys. “Well, we have to see,” Trump said. “They’ve been given a pardon. I thought their sentences were ridiculous and excessive.”
Late on Monday in Washington, a group of about 50 people had stood outside the biggest city jail, withstanding temperatures below 20F (-7C), while not far away across town Trump was in the process of issuing the pardons and commutations to the January 6 defendants.
The mood outside Central Detention Facility in Washington was lively as people waited to see if those inside would not only be pardoned, but released that night. There was a sense of excitement and restlessness, with upbeat music and dancing as well as chants demanding “justice”.
“There’s anticipation, like knots in your stomach,” said Charlie Kalk, who traveled from Oregon. “We just have a long-awaited sense of justice that’s finally happening. This was a horrific misrepresentation of justice and abuse against our fellow Americans.”
Some of those present were Trump supporters, in town for the inauguration, but Scott Tapely, 56, from Indiana, said his tickets were rendered “useless” when the events were moved indoors – so instead he came down to the jail to show his support.
“We’ve been out here freezing to death and hoping to just get a glimpse and wish them well,” he said. “I’m living in Indiana, so I couldn’t be out here every day. But I’ve donated small amounts of money, doing what I can, saying prayers. It’s just so gratifying to see Donald Trump giving them justice.”
Trump referred to the convicted as “hostages” and on the campaign trail repeatedly called them patriots, even though many committed violence as well as undermined US democracy, including by attacking Washington and US Capitol police officers.
This is the scene outside the Central Detention Center in Washington DC where family and supporters of January 6th defendants are waiting for them to be released after the pardons.
Timing is unclear.
Police pushed crowd back from the doors. Most people are across the street now. pic.twitter.com/NorWVfPc7h— Brian Entin (@BrianEntin) January 21, 2025
The former DC police officer Michael Fanone, who was attacked and injured by the mob while protecting the Capitol where lawmakers were in session, said he felt betrayed by Trump’s pardons.
“I have been betrayed by my country, and I’ve been betrayed by those that supported Donald Trump, whether you voted for him because he promised these pardons, or for some other reason, you knew that this was coming. And here we are,” he told CNN. He added: “I think that Republican party owns a monopoly on hypocrisy when it comes to … support of law enforcement.”
Fanone said on Tuesday that he had sought protective orders against the men who assaulted him.
Many of those convicted had come to the Capitol armed with weapons, or made them out of equipment snatched from overwhelmed law enforcement or objects such as flagpoles.
At midnight at the DC jail, two convicted brothers – Andrew and Matthew Valentin – were the first to be freed, according to Trump administration officials who made the announcement outside the facility.
To Contessa Mendoza, 48, waiting outside the jail in a red “Make America Great Again” hat, the prisoners were innocent.
“These people are in jail because they were present somewhere,” she said. “There was no violence committed.”
On 6 January 2021 the Valentin brothers “violently grabbed an officer’s neck”, sprayed “a chemical irritant” at police and hurled a chair at them, according to their sentencing memo.
Mendoza said she believes the diversity of Trump supporters was a sign that overturning the convictions reflected what Americans really want. “As you can see, many people, many different groups and different ethnicities and different religious groups have all come behind Trump during this campaign,” she said.
The night was emotional for some. Several members said they had relatives who were incarcerated over January 6, and were overcome with joy at their imminent release.
Ben Pollack from Lakeland, Florida, said his children Jonathan and Olivia were incarcerated, awaiting Trump’s pardon. “I was always worried because I was there, too, on January 6 and they could have arrested me at any time. You’re always wondering when it’s gonna come to an end, but fortunately Donald Trump kept his promises today, which I knew he would.”
He teared up as he shared a message for his children.
“I want them to know how much I love them and how proud I am. What Dad’s proud of two felons? But today they’re not felons, they’re free.”
The Capitol police officer Daniel Hodges sarcastically posted to X on Monday reacting to the news of Trump’s pardons: “Just worked about 14 hours making sure Trump’s inauguration was secure and peaceful, got home, read this. Thanks America.”
Video of Hodges went viral after January 6, showing him crushed in a doorway at the Capitol and being beaten by rioters as he cried out for help.
And Craig Sicknick, whose brother, Brian Sicknick, was assaulted as he tried to push back the mob with his Capitol police colleagues and died of multiple strokes the next day, called Trump “pure evil” on Tuesday.
“The man who killed my brother is now president,” he said. “My brother died in vain. Everything he did to try to protect the country, to protect the Capitol – why did he bother?”
He added: “What Trump did is despicable, and it proves that the United States no longer has anything that resembles a justice system.”
Reuters and the Associated Press contributed reporting
