Trump says he may pardon January 6 rioters if he runs and wins election

US former President Donald Trump said on Saturday if he were to run for president and win in 2024, he would pardon people charged with criminal offenses in connection with the deadly January 6 assault by his supporters on the US Capitol.

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Trump, who has not said whether he will run for president again after his defeat by Democrat Joe Biden in the 2020 election, was speaking at a rally in Conroe, Texas.

“Another thing we’ll do, and so many people have been asking me about it, if I run and if I win, we will treat those people from January 6 fairly,” Trump said to applause. “We will treat them fairly. And if it requires pardons we will give them pardons. Because they are being treated so unfairly.”

Thousands of Trump supporters stormed the Capitol on January 6, 2021, the worst assault on Congress since the War of 1812. Fueled by Trump’s false claims that his November 2020 election defeat was the result of fraud, the attackers sought to stop Congress from certifying Biden’s victory.

One police officer who responded to the scene died the day after the attack, while four others who guarded the Capitol died later by suicide. About 140 police officers were injured during the hours-long attack. Four rioters also died. More than 700 people have been charged with joining in the assault.

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