One day after announcing his run for president, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) floated the possibility of pardoning Jan. 6 Capitol rioters on his first day in office if he’s elected.
“What I’m going to do is … on day one, I will have folks that will get together and look at all these cases, people who are victims of weaponization or political targeting, and we will be aggressive at issuing pardons,” DeSantis said on “The Clay Travis & Buck Sexton Show.”
“We’re going to find examples where the government’s been weaponized against disfavored groups, and we will apply relief as appropriate, but it will be done on a case-by-case basis,” he added.
More than 1000 arrests have been made so far and about 500 people have been sentenced in connection to the Jan. 6 Capitol attack, according to the Department of Justice.
Asked whether he would consider pardoning former President Donald Trump, who is currently the facing several criminal probes including federal probes for his role in the Jan. 6 attack and mishandling of classified documents, DeSantis said, “any example of disfavored treatment based on politics, or weaponization would be included in that review, no matter how small or how big.”
