Hutchinson vows no ‘blanket pardons’ for Jan. 6 rioters if elected president

Republican presidential candidate Asa Hutchinson vowed Sunday not to issue “blanket pardons” for rioters convicted in connection with the attack on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, if he is elected. 

“First of all, there would be no blanket pardons. Secondly, it was a very serious offense, challenging the fundamentals of our democracy and attempt to overturn the election, and so I view it as seriously, and any pardon application be viewed just like any other pardon application that I viewed as governor. And I would do that as president, but no blanket pardons,” the former Arkansas governor said in an interview on MSNBC’s “The Sunday Show with Jonathan Capehart.”

The two front-runners in the 2024 GOP presidential primary – former President Trump and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) – have each said they would consider presidential pardons for Jan. 6 rioters. 

While Hutchinson, who has long supported conservative policies, has emerged as a key Republican voice refuting Trump’s false claims of election fraud in the months after the 2020 election. The former governor, who left office in January after serving eight years, has called on Trump to drop out of the 2024 race. 

Trump reaffirmed his position in favor of issuing pardons to some rioters who have been convicted of federal offenses, saying in a recent CNN town hall, “I am inclined to pardon many of them.”

DeSantis recently indicated he would consider issuing pardons, saying on a recent podcast when asked about pardons for January 6 rioters, “On day one, I will have folks that will get together and look at all these cases, who people are victims of weaponization or political targeting, and we will be aggressive in issuing pardons.”