People charged or convicted in the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection continue to hope President Donald Trump follows through on his campaign promise of blanket pardons following his November 2024 election victory.
Many have sought to delay their trial proceedings, assuming that by Jan. 20 they will be meaningless. “After 4 years of monotony & torture inside Biden’s Political Prisons – all us Jan 6 Patriots are just ONE MONTH away from FREEDOM!!” Jake Lang posted on X, formerly known as Twitter, on Dec. 20, 2024.
Lang, who is in jail while awaiting trial for 11 charges related to his activity at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, has devoted his time behind bars to organizing efforts for full pardons and compensation for convicted insurrectionists. In June 2024, he attempted to launch a nationwide militia.
While Lang and others charged or convicted in the insurrection wait, Trump appears to have walked back his campaign promise of blanket pardons for Jan. 6 participants, despite still claiming their “lives have been destroyed [by] a nasty system.”
In his first interview as president-elect in 2024, Trump answered questions about upholding his campaign promise, saying: “I’m going to look at everything. We’re going to look at individual cases,” but that “there may be some exceptions to it. I have to look.” Trump’s language is ambiguous, and he’s nominated Pam Bondi for attorney general, who previously denounced the actions on Jan. 6. These developments have left the public and political insiders questioning whether Trump still intends to fulfill his campaign promise.
Hard-right political pundit Glenn Beck voiced his qualified support for pardons, arguing for time served and release of prisoners, but with limitations. In a November 2024 X post, Beck wrote: “Just like Donald Trump, I want to see pardons issued on a case-by-case basis. If you punched a cop, you should go to jail.” According to a HuffPost analysis of Jan. 6 participants, “A full 57% are [incarcerated] following a conviction in cases involving an assault on a police officer.” Limiting pardons in that way would of course fall short of the full clemency originally promised.
For Suzanne Monk, founder of the J6 Pardon Project, an advocacy group that works “to aid President Trump in effectively and efficiently pardoning ALL of the J6 defendants,” confusion around pardons is simply political gamesmanship. Speaking with Brian Lupo of the far-right news site Gateway Pundit in early December, Monk was confident Trump would pardon all Jan. 6 participants, noting that to leave any convicted participant incarcerated would be “the worst political damage” Trump could incur.
Stew Peters, a far-right podcaster, delivered what appeared to be a veiled threat to the incoming president during a December 2024 show. Using an antisemitic trope that the U.S. government is controlled by wealthy Jewish influence, Peters declared that anything but full pardons would prove the president has been “completely purchased by [the American Israel Public Affairs Committee] and the Adelsons and the swamp that he is supposed to drain.” Should the Trump administration fail to deliver on his promise of blanket pardons, a breach may form between the most fervently pro-pardon faction and the rest of Trump’s MAGA base.
Jake Lang: Busy Behind Bars
On the podcast where Stew Peters made his antisemitic remark, the guest was none other than Jake Lang, calling in from jail. Lang is awaiting trial on multiple charges of violent offenses related to altercations with Capitol police officers on Jan. 6, and he’s pleaded not guilty. Lang has told the media he regrets that people died on Jan. 6, but he’s “not ashamed” of anything he did. Despite being in jail, Lang is still very active on social media, including regularly posting to his X account, which has over 50,000 followers — of which 15,000 have come in the past three months.
Lang’s self-described “anti-lawfare legal group,” Federal Watchdog, plans to file a $50 billion class action lawsuit against the federal government for “the extensive harm inflicted by what they [people charged or convicted in the insurrection] describe as a weaponized justice system,” according to Gateway Pundit. On Jan. 6, Federal Watchdog hosted a press conference in Washington, D.C., reiterating its calls for blanket pardons. Speakers included Suzanne Monk, election denier Mike Lindell and Jake Lang’s mother, Sari Lang. Lang has also gathered a considerable legal war chest via his personal GiveSendGo campaign, where his Jan. 6 legal fund has raised nearly $600,000.
Following the 2024 presidential election, Lang organized the J6 Pardon Coalition, a petition calling on Trump for blanket pardons and to halt all ongoing investigations. Lang also shared the petition in a tweet directed at attorney general nominee Bondi.
In June 2024, Lang attempted to create a national militia from his prison cell. It was initially called the North American Patriot and Liberty Militia (NAPALM), but it was later renamed the America First Constitutional Militia. When it was announced, each state had its own chapter that could be reached via Telegram. Each chapter required a vetting process for being accepted to what America First claimed were “Vetted County Militia chat” rooms. In those chat rooms, members would be free to message with other vetted members and leadership.
America First did not take off in popularity. This is not particularly surprising, as large, nationally organized militias like the Oath Keepers have been decimated following arrests and investigations stemming from Jan. 6. However, Lang was able to leverage the publicity and national structure left behind by his failed militia organizing to harness funding and support for blanket pardons.
Hatewatch compared the leadership, site formatting, and web domains of the now-defunct America First Constitutional Militia with the recently created J6 Pardon Coalition and the J6 Pardon Panel.
- The landing pages for all three websites share a nearly identical formatting, making it likely they were created by the same individual or developer.
- The domain registry for all three websites includes the same incorporated name as the registrar, and all three domains were purchased from the same domain provider. Two of the domains were even purchased on the same day, March 24, 2024.
- As of Jan. 3, all three efforts featured Jake Lang along with prominent pro-Trump 2020 election deniers Ann Vandersteel, Couy Griffin, Pete Santilli and Jeff Crouere as leaders, even using the same promotional images for each page.
These three efforts share leadership and logistical online information, with Lang being front and center for all of them.
If people charged or convicted in the violent insurrection are pardoned, the question remains how they will wield their newfound status after years of perceived persecution. Lang provides one possible example. While the America First Constitutional Militia failed to get off the ground with him behind bars while awaiting trial on Jan. 6 charges, it’s possible he could attempt to resurrect it if pardoned and released. If blanket pardons are not given, a wedge might be created between the differing factions of Trump supporters. Those who view people at the Jan. 6 insurrection as heroes and political prisoners may have doubts about Trump’s commitment to his promises going forward.
Picture at top: Jake Lang and other protesters clash with Capitol police during a rally to contest the certification of the 2020 U.S. presidential election Jan. 6, 2021, at the U.S. Capitol Building in Washington, D.C. (Photos Credit: REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton; Illustration: SPLC)