North Carolina Jan. 6 defendants await Trump's pardon
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Dozens of North Carolinians convicted of participating in the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol four years ago could be pardoned when President-elect Trump takes office Monday.
Why it matters: More than 50 current or past North Carolinians have been charged in connection with the Jan. 6 riot, separate lists compiled by NPR and The News & Observer show.
- Some of those defendants from North Carolina have been accused of violent offenses like assaulting police officers in an attempt to stop the certification of the 2020 election.
Zoom in: North Carolinians accused of participating in Jan. 6 range from ages 19 to 68 at the time of their convictions.
- They include a former opera singer, a tea shop owner and several former and active duty military and law enforcement.
Driving the news: Trump has vowed to pardon rioters, calling them "hostages" and "patriots," and said he will begin to "look at everything" on his "first day" back in office.
The big picture: More than 1,500 people across the country have been charged with crimes related to Jan. 6. The FBI estimates approximately 2,000 participated in criminal acts that day.
- Roughly 140 law enforcement officers were injured in the riots, and five people died as a result, according to an NPR database.
Flashback: "I was the last senate member out of the chamber on January the sixth. I saw Capitol police officers bleeding, bruised and I saw damage to a certain extent as we were exiting," Republican Sen. Thom Tillis said last year, according to Public Radio East.
- "To call those people patriots is not in my lexicon," Tillis said.
The latest: Trump's promises or pardons have influenced some cases, as defendants have cited Trump's words in seeking to delay proceedings until after the president-elect is inaugurated, Axios' Avery Lotz writes.
- That includes at least two North Carolina defendants, who sought to delay their sentencing by referencing Trump's plan to issue pardons, The News & Observer reported. Both of their motions were ultimately denied.
State of play: More than two dozen North Carolinians have already been convicted for their participation in Jan. 6, with some facing prison sentences as long as six years, according to an NPR database.
- But for many, Trump's pardon may come before they are even sentenced or have entered a plea.