Trump says he’ll look at January 6 pardons "case-by-case"

 President-elect Donald Trump suggested he will focus on those who were convicted of nonviolent crimes, who he said have been “greatly punished,” when issuing pardons for those convicted in connection with the January 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol.

Trump told Time Magazine in an interview published on Thursday that he plans to look at “each individual case” and will begin reviewing possible pardons “in the first hour that I get into office.” He said he’ll be looking to pardon people whose cases “really were out of control.”

“I’m going to do case-by-case, and if they were non-violent, I think they’ve been greatly punished,” he said. “I’m going to look if there’s some that really were out of control.”

In the interview, which was conducted last month, Trump said “a vast majority” of those who were convicted and given prison sentences “should not be in jail.” Nearly 1,200 people either have pleaded guilty or were found guilty at trial for crimes connected to the January 6 attack, according to the Justice Department. More than 645 defendants were ordered to serve some jail time.

In an interview with NBC News that took place last week, Trump reiterated his commitment to pardoning those involved in the January 6 attack but did not rule out issuing pardons for people who were charged with assaulting police officers.

“These people have been there, how long is it? Three or four years? You know, by the way, they’ve been in there for years, and they’re in a filthy, disgusting place that shouldn’t even be allowed to be open,” he told NBC News.