The clock is ticking until President Trump can make good on his promise to pardon “many” of the 1,500 people charged following the sprawling investigation into the January 6, 2021, riot at the Capitol. The unresolved question, however, is which defendants will qualify for a pardon and whether charges of assault or seditious conspiracy will be excluded. 

The expectations of pardons for the defendants have led some to seek delays in their cases, hoping they will be on the list to receive one. 

Trump has not issued a clear explanation of which defendants would qualify for a pardon, speaking instead in broad terms and referring to all of them as “hostages” and “patriots.” In a CNN town hall event in May 2023, he said he is “inclined to pardon many of them,” but a “couple of them” will be left out because they “got out of control.” He also said he would look at someone “evil and bad” differently.

What qualifies as “out of control” has not been entirely clear. In July, Trump told the National Association of Black Journalists he would “absolutely” pardon people charged and convicted with assaulting police officers because they were “convicted by a very tough system.”

At least one defendant is confident he will be granted a pardon. A writer at the conservative outlet the Blaze, Steve Baker, pleaded guilty Tuesday to unlawfully entering the Capitol, but believes there is a chance he could be pardoned before he is sentenced.

Mr. Baker was charged with trespassing and disorderly conduct and is seeking to delay his bench trial, which was set to begin this week, until after Trump’s inauguration. However, he pleaded guilty after the judge overseeing the trial, Christopher Cooper, denied his request. Mr. Cooper set a sentencing date of March 6, 2025. 

“I have no inside track on any inside information. I’m like everyone else. I’m hopeful that this campaign promise is going to be honored and that he’s going to do that very quickly,” Mr. Baker tells The New York Sun. 

He expressed hope that he would be on the list of people receiving pardons, noting that Trump and members of the Trump family have spoken about his case in the past. 

Mr. Baker also said there were people who were “not violent” on January 6 who were given “severe convictions” who he believes should get pardons. The list of people who he believes were “overcharged” is fairly large and includes the founder of Oath Keepers, Stewart Rhodes.

Rhodes was convicted of seditious conspiracy in a bid to disrupt the certification of the 2020 election. Prosecutors pointed to his comments about potential political violence and said he urged the Oath Keepers to prepare for an armed rebellion in the wake of President Biden’s election victory. While he did not enter the Capitol, prosecutors said he acted like a “general surveying his troops on the battlefield” during the riot. 

Attorneys for Rhodes argued that his words were being twisted by the prosecution, and he testified that he was upset that members of the Oath Keepers engaged in violence. However, he was convicted of seditious conspiracy and sentenced to 18 years in prison. 

Already, one of the ten people convicted of seditious conspiracy is asking Trump for a pardon. On Wednesday, an attorney for a leader of the Proud Boys, Joseph Biggs, sent a letter to the president-elect suggesting it would be in the “broader public interest” to pardon his client. The letter said such clemency would “help close” the “wound” of “suspicions” about the 2020 election and “inspire confidence in the future.”

Some in Trump’s orbit are advocating for a sweeping policy of clemency. An attorney who was seen as a potential attorney general pick, Mike Davis, posted on X after the election that he has no interest in serving in government. However, he said he would “strongly recommend that almost all January 6th defendants receive pardons, with the remaining defendants receiving commutations.”

“The Biden-Harris Justice Department politically persecuted them with bogus charges, as the Supreme Court’s Fischer ruling in June made clear. And no one deserves 22 years for what happened on January 6th,” Mr. Davis added.

His comment about a 22-year sentence seems to be a reference to the sentence the former Proud Boys leader, Enrique Tarrio, received after he was convicted of seditious conspiracy. Attorneys for Tarrio have signaled they may seek a pardon for their client. 

An attorney involved in Trump’s transition team, Mark Paoletta, posted on X that Trump’s agenda includes “granting pardons or commutations to January 6th defendants and other defendants who have been subjected to politically-driven lawfare prosecutions and sentences.”

In the nearly four years after the violence, the Justice Department has charged more than 571 people for allegedly assaulting law enforcement officers. More than 210 individuals have pleaded guilty to felony charges, and more than 500 have pleaded guilty to misdemeanor charges. Additionally, ten people have been found guilty of some of the most serious charges from January 6: seditious conspiracy.  Yet, there are also hundreds of people who did not cause damage or assault police officers who have been charged with misdemeanors for entering the Capitol. 

And the investigation does not appear to be over yet. On November 12, the Justice Department announced it was charging a Utah resident, Daniel Van Oaks, for allegedly assaulting a police officer during the riot. 

The press secretary for Trump’s transition team, Karoline Leavitt, told the Sun that decisions about pardons will be made on a “case-by-case basis.” However, she did not share further details on how the cases will be decided.