By Jack Phillips via The Epoch Times,
JD Vance, who was elected vice president, said on Jan. 12 that individuals who were violent during the violation of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021 should not be “obviously” pardoned. President-elect Donald Trump has vowed to exercise his pardon rights for people who have been charged in connection with the incident over the past four years.
Those who “peacefully protested” on Jan. 6 should be pardoned, Vance told Fox News. He added that in some cases there is also a “bit of a gray area”.
“I think it’s very simple,” Vance said.
“If you protested peacefully on January 6 and have had [attorney general] Merrick Garland’s Department of Justice treat you like a gang member, you should be pardoned. If you committed violence that day, you obviously shouldn’t be pardoned.”
More than 1,500 people have been charged with federal crimes in connection with a Capitol violation, according to the Justice Department. Several people were charged with misdemeanor offenses for entering the Capitol without permission, while some were charged with crimes.
Leaders of the Oath Keepers and Proud Boys groups were convicted of an insidious conspiracy for what prosecutors described as conspiracies to use violence to stop the peaceful transfer of power from Trump to then-President-elect Joe Biden.
Vance said on Jan. 12 that he believes “many people” have been “unfairly prosecuted” in recent years.
“We need to fix it,” said Vance. “We are very committed to seeing equal justice.”
Also on the morning of Jan. 12, Vance responded on social media to critics who said his comments to Fox News didn’t go far enough, with some saying all the jan. 6 defendants should be pardoned.
“I’ve been protecting these guys for years,” Vance wrote on social media platform X.
“A president who says he’s looking at every case (and I’m saying the same thing) is not some kind of reversal … I assure you that we care about people who have been unfairly locked up. Yes, it also includes provoked people and people who got a garbage sample.”
That comment came in response to a statement from a prominent conservative social media account on Jan. 12 that new footage has shown that “police officers are shooting innocent J6 protesters and [Vance] goes to Fox News and tells the world that only nonviolent protesters should be pardoned… better rethink what you just said JD.”
Vance noted that he donated Jan. 6 to the “Political Prisoners Fund” and was criticized for running for the Ohio Senate seat.
At a wide-ranging press conference at his Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida last week, Trump suggested that he initiate “grand pardons” for individuals arrested after Jan. 6.
One reporter asked him: “You said on your first day in office that you would pardon Jan. 6. Are you going to pardon those who were accused of violent crimes?”
“Well, we’re looking at it and we’ve got other people out there,” Trump said, adding that “people who didn’t even walk into the building are currently in jail.”
“We’re going to review the whole thing. But I give big pardons, yes,” he added.
The president-elect has said on several occasions that he will pardon quickly after being sworn in on Jan. 20.
