Former President Donald Trump is promising that one of his first acts if elected president will be to free the people who were "wrongfully imprisoned" after being convicted of crimes in connection with the Jan. 6, 2021 protests at the U.S. Capitol.
"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!" Trump said in a post on his Truth Social account Monday night.
His Truth Social post came after the House Administration Subcommittee on Oversight Monday released an 81-page report pointing out inconsistencies and the lack of corroboration for the testimony of former White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson.
Trump has often demanded that President Joe Biden release the defendants from Jan. 6, but his Truth Social post appears to be the first time he's said that he plans to let them go as one of his day one priorities, reported NBC News.
The former president has also referred before to the defendants who have been jailed as "hostages," which the White House has said is "grotesque."
According to the U.S. attorney's office in Washington, D.C., almost 500 people have been sentenced to prison or jail after being convicted over their role in the Jan. 6 incidents. Prosecutors, meanwhile, have secured more than 950 convictions in connection with Jan. 6, and 1,350 people have been charged.
Last year, Trump promised he would "very early on" pardon a "large portion" of the defendants.
Trump is facing felony charges of conspiring to defraud the country and to obstruct an official proceeding, brought by special counsel Jack Smith in connection with the Jan. 6 protests. He has denied any wrongdoing and has pleaded not guilty.
He is claiming immunity from criminal prosecution, with the Supreme Court scheduled to hold oral arguments on April 25, the final day of its argument calendar, in a case that could determine if he will face a trial on the charges before the November election.