Mike Pence Breaks with Trump on Pardoning Capitol Rioters, Says No One Who Assaulted Officers on January 6 Should Be Pardoned

Former Vice President Mike Pence expressed firm opposition to President-elect Donald Trump's plans to pardon January 6 rioters, particularly those who attacked law enforcement officers.

"I don't think the president should pardon anyone who assaulted a police officer at the United States Capitol on January 6," Pence stated at the Dispatch's Summit 2024, referencing the violent 2021 breach that forced him and his family into hiding as some rioters chanted, "Hang Mike Pence."

"I'll always believe that, by God's grace, we did our duty... to support and defend the Constitution of the United States of America," he reflected, expressing his hope that the incoming administration would honor its commitment to uphold the rule of law.

"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," Pence added.

Despite the GOP's recent victories in the House and Senate, which Pence celebrated, he voiced concerns about the potential dangers of a second Trump term. "The American people are just not gonna have it," he said regarding fears of weakened presidential guardrails.

Trump, who has previously called January 6 defendants "political prisoners," has promised to consider pardons. "I am inclined to pardon many of them," he said in a CNN town hall, going on to note that each case would be evaluated individually.