Republican presidential candidate and former president Donald Trump. AP
Donald Trump on Monday addressed those imprisoned for their involvement in the 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol, saying one of his first actions if re-elected would be to release them, calling them “hostages.” It was announced that.
On January 6, 2021, rioters attacked the seat of American democracy in an attempt to stop Joe Biden's transition to power, fueled by then-president's allegations of voter fraud.
Some 1,358 people have been charged in the 38 months since then, according to the latest figures released by the Justice Department last week. Approximately 500 people received prison sentences.
In a comment posted on his website Truth Social, President Trump further promised to close the border with Mexico as part of his first actions if re-elected, without providing further details.
“My first act as president-elect will be to close the border and release the drill, baby, drill and unjustly imprisoned January 6th hostages!” he wrote late Monday .
Trump has previously commented on his hypothetical first day in office, vowing at a televised town hall in December that he would not act as a dictator “other than the first day.”
This is not the first time President Trump has referred to his jailed supporters as “hostages” or suggested they should be released.
In January, during a campaign rally in Iowa, he begged President Biden, “Joe, please release the J6 hostages.''
President Trump faces four criminal charges, including one federal and two in Georgia, stemming from his attempts to overturn the election results after losing to Biden.
Trump's final remaining rival, Nikki Haley, withdrew from the race after a landslide victory in the primary, effectively making it certain that Trump would become the Republican presidential nominee.
Mr. Trump maintains that the support he enjoys among the Republican base has been strengthened, not undermined, by his many legal problems.
