Sen. Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla., said Sunday he is confident former President Trump will investigate the facts before granting a full pardon to the Jan. 6 rioters.
“I believe President Trump will look at this and do what he believes is best. I have complete confidence that President Trump will pay attention to every detail and do what’s right for the American people,” Mullin said in an interview on CNN’s “State of the Union” about Trump’s pledge to pardon the Jan. 6 rioters if elected president.
Mullin, who served in Afghanistan, helped police officers block the doors to the House chamber on Jan. 6, 2021, and faced off against rioters who were trying to break into the chamber where lawmakers were hiding.
In an interview Sunday, he recalled visiting a triage center after the 2021 attack on the Capitol and seeing police officers injured in clashes with angry rioters.
He drew a distinction between violent rioters who should serve their sentences and others who Mullin said have been unfairly designated as domestic terrorists.
“The people who are currently incarcerated feel they were caught up in a political environment. They were thrown into a court system where it was impossible to get a fair system. I think President Trump will look at that hard. Innocent people should be reconsidered and I hope they will be granted pardons by the president,” Marin said.
“Individuals who attack police officers, who physically attack police officers, have committed a crime and they need to pay the price,” he added.
But in an interview at the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) convention on Wednesday, President Trump made it clear that he would pardon the rioters who attacked police officers.
“Of course I would, if they’re innocent. If they’re innocent, I’d pardon them,” Trump said. Asked ABC News reporter Rachel Scott asked whether President Trump would pardon the rioters who attacked police officers.
When Scott pointed out that they had been convicted, Trump said, “Well, they were convicted by a very strict system.”
