President Trump has vowed to release the January 6 political prisoners as one of his top priorities if he is re-elected. Describing them as “hostages,” Trump emphasized that granting their freedom will be among the first actions of his administration.
In a Truth Social post, Trump listed his three first acts as President:
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!
🚨#BREAKING: Former President Donald Trump announced on his social media platform, Truth Social, As President, his first acts would be to close the border and free the Jan 6 hostages who are being wrongfully imprisoned pic.twitter.com/0FnhWL4OPL
— R A W S A L E R T S (@rawsalerts) March 12, 2024
NBC News reported:
Former President Donald Trump said Monday that one of his first acts as president if he wins in November would be to “free” those charged and convicted of crimes related to the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol.
“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!” Trump wrote on his Truth Social account.
It appeared to be the first time that he has definitively referred to releasing the Jan. 6 defendants as a Day One priority.
A spokesperson for President Joe Biden’s campaign, Sarafina Chitika, said in a statement in response to Trump’s comments that the former president “has shown he’ll do whatever it takes to hold on to power — including excusing and encouraging political violence.”
“The American people haven’t forgotten the violent attack at our Capitol on January 6 — they know Trump is too dangerous to be let anywhere near the Oval Office again, and they’ll turn out to protect our democracy and keep Trump out of the White House this November,” Chitika said.
Trump has repeatedly called on Biden to “release” the Jan. 6 defendants and has suggested he would be likely pardon a large number of them if he is elected in November. He also regularly characterizes the defendants as “hostages,” a comparison the White House has called “grotesque.”
