Letter From a J6 Prisoner
Editor’s Note: President-elect Donald Trump has, on multiple occasions, referred to Americans imprisoned for their role in the January 6, 2021 protest at the U.S. Capitol as “political prisoners” and “hostages,” and has called the rally-gone-wrong at the U.S. Capitol a “setup.” But when pressed about whether he will pardon J6ers, some of his responses have been couched in less-than-reassuring terms. One of the J6ers eagerly awaiting a pardon is Kelly Meggs, the former leader of Florida’s Oath Keepers. Authorities arrested him in February 2021, though he was working security in D.C. on January 6 with Secret Service security clearance. His full story is told in The New American’s February 12, 2024 issue. Following are his thoughts in the aftermath of Trump’s victory on November 5.
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“If they’re innocent, I would pardon them,” Trump said during a panel at the National Association of Black Journalists in July. He made a similar non-committal in 2023 at a town hall in New Hampshire, when he said that he was “inclined to pardon many of them.” In March of [2024], he posted on Truth Social: “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!” In his December 8, 2024 interview with NBC’s Meet the Press, he reiterated his intention to issue pardons on day one.
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