Trump Declares His Priority’ as President Will Be ‘Freeing Wrongfully Imprisoned’ Rioters of January 6

January 6, Capitol riot remains afresh in the memories of the American population as the country heads to elect their next President. With the election streamlined to a direct face-off like the previous election between President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump. Meanwhile, Trump has yet again managed to draw criticism. 

Trump recently wrote on his Truth Social account, an alternative of X, a microblogging site formerly known as Twitter, that his first act as the President would be to free the "wrongfully imprisoned." "My first acts as your next President will be to Close the Border, DRILL, BABY, DRILL, and Free the January 6 Hostages being wrongfully imprisoned!" wrote Trump. This marks the first instance where he unequivocally identified releasing the January 6 defendants as a top priority from Day One.

According to The Guardian, responding to Trump's remarks, a spokesperson for President Joe Biden's campaign, Sarafina Chitika, stated that the former president "has demonstrated his willingness to take any measures necessary to retain power — even by condoning and promoting political violence." "The American people haven’t forgotten the violent attack at our Capitol on January 6 — they know Trump is too dangerous to be let anywhere near the Oval Office again, and they’ll turn out to protect our democracy and keep Trump out of the White House this November," Chitika said. 

There have been implications that Trump intends to assume dictatorial powers if he were to be re-elected as President of the United States, following his defeat to Joe Biden in 2020. During his campaign, Trump emphasized plans for extensive drilling initiatives. Despite Trump's promises to initiate oil drilling to alleviate inflation concerns, gas prices notably decreased per gallon in 2023 from a previous peak in 2022. "We’re closing the border and we’re drilling, drilling, drilling," Trump told Fox News’ Sean Hannity. "After that, I’m not a dictator," he added. 

Trump has consistently urged Biden to "release" the Jan. 6 defendants and has hinted at the possibility of pardoning a considerable number of them if he wins the November election. He frequently refers to the defendants as "hostages," a comparison that the White House has denounced as "grotesque." According to the U.S. attorney's office for Washington, D.C., nearly 500 individuals have been sentenced to imprisonment for their involvement in the January 6, 2021, riot, with prosecutors securing over 950 convictions. It has been reported that over 1,350 people have been charged with the attack.

Trump was expected to undergo trial for his endeavors to overturn the 2020 election. The January 6 insurrection likely occupied Trump's thoughts as the Republican-led House committee investigating the attack released a report. The report carries testimonies of four White members on Cassidy Hutchinson. "None of the White House employees corroborated Hutchinson’s sensational story about President Trump’s lunging for the steering wheel," the report reads.