Trump indicates he may pardon some Jan. 6 defendants should he return to office

Former President Donald Trump on Friday said he would consider pardoning some defendants facing federal charges for their participation in the Jan. 6 Capitol Riot should he return to office in 2024.

Speaking to a Faith and Freedom Coalition conference in Nashville, Trump said "and if I become president someday, if I decide to do it, I will be looking at them very very seriously for pardons," per the Epoch Times.

“They’ve been treated very unfairly," he said, without specifying individuals. The former president further decried the federal government's treatment of those facing charges related to the incident, saying they had “their lives totally destroyed and [that they are] being treated worse than terrorists and murderers despite most being charged with parading through the Capitol.”

The issue of potential pardons for Jan. 6 participants is not entirely new as the committee previously alleged that Pennsylvania GOP Rep. Scott Perry sought a pardon from Trump for potential wrongdoing on Jan. 6 which Perry called a "shameless and soulless lie."

Trump's comments came on the same day that former White House advisor Peter Navarro pleaded not guilty to contempt charges for defying a subpoena from the House committee investigating the Capitol Riot.

Over the past week the Jan. 6 committee held primetime hearings to make its case that Trump pushed his election fraud claims despite knowing they were false in an effort to overturn the 2020 presidential election results. The committee, largely led by Democrats, includes two Republicans, Wyoming Rep. Liz Cheney and Illinois Rep. Adam Kinzinger, both of whom voted to impeach Trump.

The 45th president has derided the committee for allegedly painting a false picture of the Jan. 6 incident and said the hearings were a Democratic "to change the narrative of a failing nation."