President-elect Donald Trump is looking to follow through on his promise to pardon Jan. 6 Capitol rioters.
In his first interview since the election with NBC News, Trump said, “We’re looking at it right now—most likely, yeah,” to a question about issuing the pardons.
“I’m going to be acting very quickly,” Trump said. “First day. They’ve been in there for years, and they’re in a filthy, disgusting place that shouldn’t even be allowed to be open.”
BREAKING: Trump says he will be “acting very quickly” to pardon January 6th prisoners.
The latest conviction for invading the U.S. Capitol is an Arkansas man photographed for kicking back and placing his feet on Nancy Pelosi’s desk. According to the Huff Post, Richard “Bigo” Barnett was found guilty of all charges, eight counts, including felony charges of civil disorder and obstruction of an official proceeding.
The image of Barnett kicking his feet on Pelosi’s desk became one of the most dominant images from the Jan. 6, 2021, riot. Sentencing for Barnett is now set for May.
During his testimony, the 62-year-old Barnett said he was looking for a bathroom when he encountered Pelosi’s office. He stated he came across two news photographers who told him to act natural, leading to the infamous picture.
“I was just in the moment,” Barnett said. “I’m just kind of going with the flow at this point.”
Barnett also took a piece of Pelosi’s mail and left a note that read, “Nancy, Bigo was here.” He shouted outside, “We took back our house, and I took Nancy Pelosi’s office!”
Barnett now says he regrets attending the “Stop the Steal” rally held by President Donald Trump as it has caused “misery” for his family.
The Jan. 6 select committee has formally voted to accuse Donald Trump of four crimes. The committee argued that the former President provided “aid and comfort” to the mob attacking the Capitol in 2021.
They also stated that Trump could be charged with obstructing Congress’ Jan. 6 joint session, conspiracy to make false statements to the National Archives, and conspiracy to defraud the United States.
WASHINGTON, DC – JUNE 30: (AFP OUT) U.S President Donald Trump looks on during a meeting with South Korean President Moon Jae-in in the Oval Office of the White House on June 30, 2017 in Washington, DC. President Trump and President Moon will hold an Oval Office meeting and then give joint statements in the Rose Garden. (Photo by Olivier Douliery – Pool/Getty Images)
“Faith in our system is the foundation of American democracy. If the faith is broken, so is our democracy,” select panel chair Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.) said. “Donald Trump broke that faith. He lost the 2020 election and knew it, but he chose to try to stay in office through a multi-part scheme. This can never happen again.”
The final meeting went down on the two-year anniversary of Trump’s Dec. 19, 2020 tweet, in which he called for a “wild” protest against the election results. The committee says the post was a key inflection point for the ensuing riot. Later Trump urged his supporters to “fight like hell” to convince lawmakers to vote against certifying Joe Biden’s victory.
Despite the committee’s decision, they have no power to prosecute Trump, as that will come down to the Department of Justice.
“I’m convinced that now that our committee has released our information, they will take the information that we’ve shared with them and proceed with the investigation,” Thompson also said of the DOJ’s decision.
