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NEW: First J6 Prisoners Are Released As Trump Rapidly Delivers On Top Campaign Promise

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On Monday, President Donald Trump fulfilled a major campaign promise by issuing a comprehensive clemency proclamation. The decisive order granted pardons to approximately 1,500 individuals involved in the January 6, 2021, Capitol breach.

The sweeping clemency included full, unconditional pardons for the majority of those convicted, correcting what many of his supporters saw as a grave miscarriage of justice. The pardons led to the dismissal of over 300 pending cases connected to the January 6 events, effectively concluding what has been the largest investigation in the history of the Justice Department.

On Monday, two brothers from Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania, Andrew Valentin, 26, and Matthew Valentin, 31, were released from the Central Detention Facility in Washington, D.C. Their release came after their sentencing last Friday; Matthew had pleaded guilty to two felony counts, and Andrew to one felony count of assaulting, resisting, or impeding certain officers, with an additional count involving a deadly or dangerous weapon.

Their charges stemmed from their participation in the January 6, 2021, Capitol breach, where they were identified from an open-source video marching from the Washington Monument along Constitution Avenue toward the U.S. Capitol building. Paul Ingrassia, the White House liaison to the Justice Department, announced outside the jail just before midnight that the Valentins were among the first to benefit from these pardons.

Ingrassia told reporters, “The first two January 6 defendants have been released. This is a few hours after President Trump signed his historic pardon,” describing the pardon as a “monumental moment in our history.” He explained, “This injustice is ending in America tonight and this dark chapter in our country’s history is coming to an end.”

Despite Trump’s pardon plans, the DOJ pushed forward with legal proceedings last week without delay, adding to the 1,583 already charged. On the final day of federal court proceedings, before Trump took office, the judge who oversaw the now-dismissed criminal case against the president-elect regarding the January 6 breach told defendants that they might be the last rioters she would sentence.

Judge Tanya Chutkan told defendant Brian Leo Kelly during the proceedings, “This may be, depending upon what happens outside these walls, the last one of these.” She added, “I’m fully aware you may never serve a sentence in this case.”

Andrew and Matthew Valentin were sentenced to two and a half years in prison for their roles in the January 6 events. They were taken into custody immediately to start serving their sentences. Both admitted guilt in September, pleading guilty to assaulting police officers.

Judge James “Jeb” Boasberg, the Chief Judge of the DC District Court, commented on the significant caseload his court managed, dealing with the cases of nearly 1,600 people over the past four years. “I am proud of the way this court handled this unprecedented and historic prosecution, that judges regardless of which president appointed them handled matters fairly and expeditiously,” he told CNN.

Trump’s clemency included full, unconditional pardons for the majority and commuted sentences to time served for 14 prominent figures, such as leaders of the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers. During the Oval Office document signing, President Trump said, “This is a big one… We hope they come out tonight, frankly,” he added.

Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) described it as “an outrageous insult to our justice system and the heroes who suffered physical scars and emotional trauma.”