A majority of voters in the U.S. say they believe President-elect Trump will issue pardons to those who stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, when he returns to the White House, according to a new poll.
In the survey, released Wednesday by Politico/Morning Consult, 40 percent of registered voters said in light of Trump’s victory against Vice President Harris in the 2024 presidential election, pardons for Jan. 6 defendants are “very” likely. Another 29 percent said the chance is only “somewhat” likely.
Roughly 9 percent of registered voters said Trump granting clemency to the those convicted in connection with Jan. 6 is “somewhat unlikely.” Just 6 percent said the chance is “very unlikely.”
The president-elect claimed while on the campaign trail that if he wins, he will “rapidly review the cases of every political prisoner unjustly victimized by the Harris regime, and I will sign their pardons on Day 1.”
Since the attack on the Capitol, more than 1,500 people have been charged and over 640 have been sentenced, according to the Justice Department.
Trump has often defended supporters who were involved in the Capitol riots, referring to them as warriors.
“Those J6 warriors — they were warriors — but they were really, more than anything else, they’re victims of what happened,” Trump said during a campaign rally.
“All they were doing is protesting a rigged election. That’s what they were doing,” he added.
The former president was also facing a federal election subversion case related to his efforts to remain in power following the 2020 loss to President Biden. Special counsel Jack Smith moved to dismiss the case following the election results, as DOJ has a policy against prosecuting sitting presidents and in light of the Supreme Court’s presidential immunity ruling.
The judge granted the motion to dismiss earlier this week.
The Politico/Morning Consult poll was conducted from Nov. 20-22 among 4,012 registered voters and has a margin of error of plus or minus 2 percentage points.
