Trump vows to 'free' Jan. 6 defendants as one of his first acts if elected

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 to 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.”

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Nearly 500 people have been sentenced to incarceration over the riot on Jan. 6, 2021, and prosecutors have secured more than 950 convictions, according to the U.S. attorney's office for Washington, D.C. More than 1,350 people have been charged in connection with the attack.

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Last year, Trump promised that he would pardon a "large portion" of Jan. 6 defendants, adding that he would do it "very early on." A president has the power to pardon and commute federal sentences upon taking office.

Trump posted the vow the same day that a Republican-led House committee investigating the Jan. 6 committee released a report alleging that four Trump White House employees did not corroborate a key element of former aide Cassidy Hutchinson's testimony before the Jan. 6 committee in 2022.

Trump was indicted in August over allegations related to his actions on Jan. 6. The charges included conspiring to defraud the country and obstructing an official proceeding. He has pleaded not guilty.