Do you support or oppose granting pardons or sentence reductions to individuals convicted in connection with the January 6, 2021 Capitol events?

Background

On January 20, 2025, President Trump signed a proclamation granting clemency to nearly all individuals charged in connection with the January 6, 2021, Capitol attack. According to the Department of Justice, approximately 1,583 defendants had been federally charged, and Trump pardoned all but 14, whose sentences were commuted to time served. The investigation had been described by then-Attorney General Merrick Garland as one of the largest and most complex in DOJ history. About 608 of those charged were accused of assaulting or impeding federal officers, and more than 1,270 had been convicted by the time of the pardons. Since then, the Justice Department has broadened the scope of the pardons to cover related gun and drug charges discovered during January 6 investigations, and in April 2026 asked a federal appeals court to throw out the convictions of additional defendants who had received commutations. The debate over whether this clemency was appropriate continues to intensify.

Supporters of the pardons argue that many defendants were nonviolent participants swept up in an overzealous prosecution, that sentences were disproportionately harsh, and that the clemency corrected what the presidential proclamation called a national injustice. Some pardoned individuals and their advocates have sought financial compensation, arguing their lives were upended by prosecutions they view as politically motivated. Opponents counter that the blanket pardons undermine the rule of law and disrespect the approximately 140 officers injured during the attack. Law enforcement groups including the International Association of Chiefs of Police and the Fraternal Order of Police issued a joint statement condemning clemency for those who assaulted officers. Multiple polls reflect deep public division along partisan lines: a Pew Research Center survey from February 2025 found that about 74 percent of Americans disapproved of pardons for those convicted of violent crimes, while an NPR/PBS News/Marist poll found 89 percent of Democrats, 62 percent of independents, and 30 percent of Republicans disapproved of the pardons overall.

The stakes extend well beyond the individuals pardoned. Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington reported that at least 33 pardoned defendants have been rearrested, charged, or sentenced for other crimes since the Capitol attack. Critics worry the clemency sets a precedent that political violence carries no lasting consequences, a concern echoed in a Protect Democracy survey where about three in five voters said January 6 pardons could encourage future political unrest. The Government Accountability Office estimated the total taxpayer cost of the Capitol attack at roughly $2.7 billion, and outstanding court-ordered restitution was largely wiped out by the pardons. How Americans weigh accountability, mercy, presidential power, and the precedent this sets for future political conflicts remains one of the most consequential questions in the ongoing national debate.