By Deborah Gembara, Andrew Goudsward and Andy Sullivan
CUMBERLAND, Maryland/WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Donald Trump supporters who attacked the U.S. Capitol four years ago will begin to leave prison on Tuesday, after the newly installed president issued a sweeping pardon that signaled he intends to make aggressive use of his executive power.
The Republican president’s pardon of 1,500 defendants on Monday, Inauguration Day, drew outrage from lawmakers who were endangered in the attack on Jan. 6, 2021, when thousands of Trump supporters stormed the Capitol in an unsuccessful attempt to prevent Congress from certifying Democrat Joe Biden’s 2020 victory.Â
Trump’s clemency extended from the hundreds of people who followed the crowd into the Capitol to the far smaller group who planned the assault on democracy, including some who assaulted and injured some 140 police officers that day.
Stewart Rhodes, the former leader of the Oath Keepers…
