Trump Tells Rally He's Seeking 'Justice' For Jan. 6 Rioters; He's Not Talking About Prison
Just days after former President Donald Trump said the rioting at the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, was “a shame,” he vowed at a political rally to protect the “civil rights” of those same rioters.
“While we’re at it [we will] demand justice for the January 6 prisoners and full protection of their civil rights — like was received by Antifa and Black Lives Matter, who murdered people throughout our country,” he told supporters at the North Carolina rally in Selma on Saturday night.
It wasn’t clear what “murders” across the nation he was referring to.
President Trump vows to 'demand justice for the Jan. 6 prisoners and full protection of their civil rights like was received by ANTIFA, Black Lives Matter who murdered people throughout our country.' pic.twitter.com/I9VxV5zpjh
— RSBN 🇺🇸 (@RSBNetwork) April 9, 2022
Trump in previous remarks had called the insurrectionists who stormed the Capitol “political prisoners.” He also indicated at a Texas rally early this year that if he’s ever reelected president, he would pardon many of them.
“We will give them pardons because they are being treated so unfairly,” he said.
During the Selma rally, Trump initially referred to someone who had been acquitted of charges in the Capitol riot as an “extortion.” He intended to say “exoneration.” (He later accused President Joe Biden of being “challenged,” apparently because of gaffes like the one he himself had just made.)
Trump: As you probably have heard, one of the first January 6th trials ended in an extortion pic.twitter.com/uq5efs2kjB
— Acyn (@Acyn) April 9, 2022
Matthew Martin of New Mexico was acquitted of misdemeanor charges last week when the judge noted that his way into the Capitol wasn’t physically blocked by police, who even appear to be waving him inside.
Despite his defense of his supporters who breached the Capitol, Trump said in an interview with The Washington Post published two days earlier that he thought the violence was “a shame.”
“I thought it was a shame, and I kept asking why isn’t she doing something about it? Why isn’t [House Speaker] Nancy Pelosi doing something about it?” Trump said.
“And the mayor of D.C. also — the mayor of D.C. and Nancy Pelosi are in charge,” he added. “I hated seeing it. I hated seeing it. And I said, ‘It’s got to be taken care of,’ and I assumed they were taking care of it.’”
Even though rioters stormed Pelosi’s office, she worked with some of Trump’s top military officials and others to help secure the building from a secure location. Pelosi shares some control of the Capitol Police with the Senate majority leader.
The District of Columbia mayor, meanwhile, was desperately trying to reach Trump that day, the Post reported.
As for Trump, he ignored entreaties to ask his supporters to leave the building for hours while they marauded through the building and called for then-Vice President Mike Pence to be hanged for refusing to overturn the election.
Trump told the Post that he wanted to march on the Capitol with his supporters, but his Secret Service detail told him not to.
This article originally appeared on HuffPost and has been updated.
