The leaders of the Capitol riots, Tarrio and Rhodes, were released from prison

Former Proud Boys leader Henry “Enrique” Tarrio and Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes have been released from prison as President Donald Trump freed more than 1,500 people charged in the US Capitol riots four years ago.

Less than 24 hours after Trump pardoned or commuted the sentences of those who tried to violently overturn the 2020 election, two prominent leaders of the riots left prison. Trump is also dismissing indictments against those accused, but not yet tried, of sedition.

“My son, Enrique Tarrio, is now officially free!” Posted by Zuny Tarrio in X.

Rhodes, who was not pardoned but his sentence was commuted, is in prison awaiting the release of the defendants.

Rhodes, a former US Army paratrooper and Yale-educated lawyer, was charged with leading a contingent of his fellow Oath Keepers to Washington.

Although Rhodes did not enter the Capitol, he led his colleagues from the outside, and in 2023 he was sentenced to 18 years in federal prison.

Tarrio was found guilty of seditious conspiracy—a lesser-known plot to overthrow the government—as a result of the riot. He was not in Washington DC during the riots, but he led others who were involved.

He received a sentence of 22 years, one of the longest.

Among the pardons and commutations, Trump also signed an order ordering the Department of Justice to drop all pending cases against suspects accused in the riots.

Many of these people have been held in a Washington DC jail for more than a year, and Trump often referred to them on the campaign trail as “hostages” as they awaited trial.

A leading defender of those defendants – Edward R Martin – has also been appointed acting US Attorney in Washington DC, showing the depth of Trump’s desire to quickly end the prosecutions. The Washington office was tasked with prosecuting cases related to January 6, 2021.

But for some of those inmates’ families, the release process was disappointing Tuesday.

While outside the DC Central Jail, Ben Pollock, whose children Jonathan and Olivia were locked inside, said he spoke with his son and learned they could be moved to another facility.

“We don’t know what’s going on,” he said. “Why aren’t they freed?”

Democrats have condemned the release of more than 1,000 people to rewrite history and sanitize the violence of the riots that left many dead.

Trump declared that the day was “peaceful”.