Trump says he will free Jan 6. Capitol rioters if reelected
2 Min Read
The Republican presidential candidate also promises to shut down the border with Mexico as part of his first acts if reelected.
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Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump speaks at a campaign rally Saturday, March 9, 2024, in Rome Ga. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)
Donald Trump on Monday pledged to free people jailed for taking part in the 2021 attack on the US Capitol as one of his first actions if reelected, calling them "hostages."
The rioters stormed the Capitol on January 6, 2021, in a bid to halt the transfer of power to Joe Biden.
Around 1,358 defendants have been charged in the 38 months since then, according to the latest figures from the Justice Department released last week. About 500 have been sentenced to prison terms.
Trump posted the comments on his Truth Social website, additionally promising to shut down the border with Mexico as part of his first acts if reelected, without providing details.
"My first acts as your next President will be to Close the Border, DRILL, BABY, DRILL, and Free the January 6 Hostages being wrongfully imprisoned!" he wrote late Monday.
Trump has made previous comments about his hypothetical first day in office, vowing during a televised town hall in December not to act as a dictator except "other than day one."
Nor is it the first time Trump has called his imprisoned supporters "hostages" or suggested they should be freed.
In January, he called on Biden to "release the J6 hostages" during a campaign rally in Iowa.
Trump faces four criminal indictments, including two -- one federal and one in Georgia -- stemming from his attempts to overturn the election results after losing to Biden.
![In a 2021 interview with Frontline by former US special representative James Jeffrey, he says he had "engaged with [HTS] via backchannels while serving in President Trump’s State Department. (Al Mayadeen English; Illustrated by Batoul Chamas)](https://alpha-en-media.almayadeen.net/media/image/2024/12/21/b4a69f2e-8682-43e4-9d37-49482b304ab3/3.png?v=2&format=webp "In a 2021 interview with Frontline by former US special representative James Jeffrey, he says he had \"engaged with [HTS] via backchannels while serving in President Trump’s State Department. (Al Mayadeen English; Illustrated by Batoul Chamas)")
