On Inauguration Day Trump Signs Proclamation Pardoning About 1,500 Capitol Riot Defendants and Commuting 14 Sentences
On January 20, 2025, on his first day back in office, President Donald Trump signed a proclamation (Proclamation 10887) granting sweeping pardons and commutations in cases arising from the January 6, 2021, events at the U.S. Capitol. He signed it at the White House in Washington, D.C.
The proclamation said it "ends a grave national injustice that has been perpetrated upon the American people over the last four years and begins a process of national reconciliation."
The proclamation had two parts. First, it commuted the sentences of 14 people to time served as of January 20, 2025: Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes, Kelly Meggs, Kenneth Harrelson, Thomas Caldwell, Jessica Watkins, Roberto Minuta, Edward Vallejo, David Moerschel and Joseph Hackett, and Proud Boys members Ethan Nordean, Joseph Biggs, Zachary Rehl, Dominic Pezzola and Jeremy Bertino.
Second, it granted "a full, complete and unconditional pardon" to all other individuals convicted of offenses related to the events that occurred at or near the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021.
The proclamation directed the Attorney General to immediately issue certificates of pardon, to ensure that all individuals held in prison for covered offenses are released immediately, and to pursue dismissal with prejudice of all pending indictments for conduct related to the January 6 events; the Bureau of Prisons was directed to implement the Justice Department's instructions immediately.
Contemporaneous reporting put the total number of people receiving pardons or commutations at about 1,500, with roughly 450 pending cases also covered. It was among the first presidential documents Trump signed on the first day of his second term.
(Source: The White House)
Source: The White House
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：特朗普在白宫椭圆形办公室展示刚签署的第10887号公告（2025年1月20日）。图：白宫官方照片，公共领域，via Wikimedia Commons / Photo: President Trump holds up the signed Proclamation 10887 at the White House on January 20, 2025. Photo: The White House, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
