Former President Donald Trump said that he will pardon those convicted for their role in the Jan. 6 Capitol riot should he be reelected during his Saturday speech at a rally in Conroe, Texas.
“If I run and if I win, we will treat those people from January 6 fairly, and if it requires pardons we will give them pardons because they are being treated so unfairly,” Trump said.
He then went on to characterize the actions of the Jan. 6 Select Committee, which recently issued subpoenas to a number of individuals close to Trump, as a “disgrace.” (RELATED: Trump Holds ‘Save America Rally’ In Texas, Slams Biden’s Foreign Policy, ‘Rigged’ Elections)
Donald Trump: “If I run and if I win, we will treat those people from January 6 fairly and if it requires pardons we will give them pardons because they are being treated so unfairly.” pic.twitter.com/fDggNoNwsi
— The Hill (@thehill) January 30, 2022
Republican South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham criticized Trump’s remarks as “inappropriate,” adding that it could send the wrong signal to the public.
“No, I don’t want to send any signal that it was OK to defile the Capitol,” Graham said, appearing on the Sunday episode of CBS’s “Face the Nation.”
WATCH: @LindseyGrahamSC responds to President Trump dangling the possibility of pardons for January 6 Capitol rioters: “I think it is inappropriate. I don’t want to reinforce that defiling the capitol is okay.” pic.twitter.com/3HFTspixiY
— Face The Nation (@FaceTheNation) January 30, 2022
“There are other groups with causes that may want to go down the violent path that these people get pardoned,” the senator added. “I think it’s inappropriate … I don’t want to do anything that would make this more likely in the future.”