JD Vance Fuels MAGA Debate Over His Stance On January 6 Pardons

Just days before taking the oath of office, incoming Vice President JD Vance appeared on Fox News for an interview during which the topic of President Trump’s expected Jan. 6 pardons.

Although he affirmed that many individuals convicted for peacefully protesting should be pardoned, he went on to argue that there are “obviously” some who should not.

As the Associated Press reported through its typically anti-Trump lens:

Vice President-elect JD Vance says people responsible for the violence during the Capitol riot “obviously” should not be pardoned, as President-elect Donald Trump is promising to use his clemency power on behalf of many of those who tried on Jan. 6, 2021, to overturn the results of the election that Trump lost.

Vance insisted in an interview on “Fox News Sunday” that the pardon question is “very simple,” saying those who “protested peacefully” should be pardoned and “if you committed violence on that day, obviously you shouldn’t be pardoned.” He later said there was a “bit of a gray area” in some cases.

More than 1,500 people have been charged with federal crimes stemming from the siege that left more than 100 police officers injured and sent lawmakers running into hiding as they met to certify Democrat Joe Biden’s 2020 victory.