Donald Trump supporters who attacked the US Capitol four years ago began leaving prison on Tuesday (21), after the newly inaugurated president issued a sweeping pardon.
The Republican president’s pardon of 1,500 defendants on Monday (20), the day of his inauguration, drew outrage from lawmakers who were in danger from the attack on January 6, 2021, when thousands of Trump supporters stormed the Capitol in an attempt unsuccessful attempt to prevent Congress from certifying his 2020 defeat to Joe Biden.
“Donald Trump is ushering in a Golden Age for people who break the law and try to overthrow the government,” declared Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer.
The attack was spurred by Trump’s refusal to acknowledge his defeat, which threatened the peaceful transfer of power for the first time in US history. Around 140 police officers were attacked during the attack and four people died.
Among those expected to be freed are leaders of the far-right organizations Proud Boys and Oath Keepers, including some who were convicted of conspiracy.
Pardon and execution orders
About 40 men wearing Proud Boys insignia exchanged insults with protesters on the streets of Washington during Trump’s inauguration on Monday (20).
Trump’s pardon was just one of a set of executive orders he signed following an inauguration ceremony in the U.S. Rotunda, where his supporters had raged four years earlier.
Trump also began a sweeping crackdown on immigration, cut support for wind energy and electric vehicles and cleared the way for oil drilling in the Arctic and offshore areas. He has withdrawn from the Paris climate agreement and the World Health Organization.
The president also delayed the ban on the popular video app TikTok, which was supposed to be closed on Sunday (19).
However, Trump did not immediately impose tariffs on Mexico and Canada, as he had threatened to do.
Some of the Republican’s executive orders, such as one removing the guarantee of citizenship for those born in the United States, could very well be struck down in court.
His promise to rename the Gulf of Mexico the Gulf of America drew a giggle from Hillary Clinton, his 2016 Democratic presidential rival, during his inauguration ceremony.
Other policy changes were already having a real-world impact. Along the U.S.-Mexico border, migrants despaired when their asylum appointments were canceled.
Planes carrying more than 1,600 Afghan refugees who had been allowed into the US should be prevented from returning.
This content was originally published in Capitol invaders begin to leave prison after Trump’s pardon on the CNN Brasil website.
Source: CNN Brasil
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