Why does Donald Trump want to pardon the rioters from the January 6 attack?

Trump has described supporters who stormed the Capitol to overturn 2020 election as ‘patriots’ and ‘political prisoners’.

As President-elect Donald Trump prepares to return to the White House, his proposals on issues such as immigration, taxes, and trade have sparked furious discussion.

But two weeks away from returning to one of the world’s most powerful political offices, Trump remains animated by past grievances, laying out a plan of attack against political rivals, critics and a loss in the 2020 election that he has never accepted.

Much of his rhetoric has focused on the events of January 6, 2021, when a mob of his supporters stormed the US Capitol in an effort disrupt the certification of the election results. Monday marks the fourth anniversary of that riot.

Speaking to a crowd of supporters on December 22, Trump took time during his remarks to rail against the January 6 Committee, a Congressional panel that probed Trump’s efforts before, during and after the riot.

“The unselect committee of political thugs, J6 committee, what they did is so illegal,” he told the audience.