Former vice president Mike Pence, who became the target of a violent mob of Donald Trump supporters on January 6, 2021, said on Tuesday he does not think the president-elect should pardon rioters and prays that Trump maintains his commitment to the Constitution.
While speaking to an audience at the 2024 Dispatch Summit in Washington D.C., Pence, once again, said he does not think January 6 rioters should get a break, though Trump and his allies have described them as patriots who were wrongly prosecuted.
“I don’t think the president should pardon anyone who assaulted a police officer at the United States Capitol on January 6,” Pence said on stage per The Dispatch.
Pence added that he and his wife are, “literally praying that president-elect Trump and vice president-elect Vance will stand on the commitments that they will make when they raise their right hands on that day.”
A spokesperson for Pence wouldn’t confirm if that oath would include upholding the court rulings to keep January 6 convictions in place.
The former vice president said he believes with prayer, “God’s grace” and the public’s support, Trump and Vance will do so.
Trump, however, has continuously promised all 1,500 rioters charged with crimes in connection to January 6 presidential pardons.
"I don't think the president should pardon anyone who assaulted a police officer at the United States Capitol on January 6."
— The Dispatch (@thedispatch) November 12, 2024
—@Mike_Pence #DispatchSummit24 pic.twitter.com/GdBG6HSPw0
Incited by Trump’s rhetoric and false claims of mass voter fraud after the 2020 election, a mob of angry Trump supporters stormed the Capitol as Congress was certifying the election results for President Joe Biden.
Trump falsely claimed the then-vice president had the power to change election results – the vice president does not possess such power – which caused rioters to chant “hang Mike Pence” while breaching the Capitol.
Despite the threat of real violence on his vice president’s life, Trump did not intervene in the attack. One former White House aide testified to the House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack that Trump said, at the time, Pence “deserves” it.
The incident is ultimately what led to a falling out between the former president and vice president.
"Karen and I are literally praying that President-Elect Trump and Vice President-Elect Vance will stand on the commitments that they will make when they raise their right hands on that day. And with God's grace and the support of the American people, I believe they will."… pic.twitter.com/K5ps1qpKXS
— The Dispatch (@thedispatch) November 12, 2024
Since then, Pence has refused to endorse Trump but stopped short of issuing any particularly harsh criticisms of him – even during his own short-lived presidential campaign.
Yet Trump continues to espouse a false narrative about the rioters and their actions on January 6. He’s promised to pardon them – and now that he’s been re-elected he has the opportunity to do exactly that.
Some rioters who have been charged or convicted for crimes they committed in connection to the attack on the Capitol seem so sure Trump will save them they’ve asked judges to halt their sentencing or court proceedings until Trump assumes office on January 20th.
This article was amended to better reflect what Pence said at this event which was not live streamed or broadcasted.
