Trump: I Will Release "Hostages" from the Capitol Attack Upon My Return to the Presidency

Former U.S. President Donald Trump pledged to release those he referred to as "hostages" from the Capitol attackers of early 2021 if he wins the presidential election. Trump wrote on his platform, Truth Social: "The first actions I will take as the next president will be to close the border" with Mexico, and "to release the hostages of January 6 who are unjustly imprisoned." A number of the former president's supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol in 2021, driven by his accusations of election fraud in the presidential race he lost to Democratic rival Joe Biden, in an attempt to prevent the official certification of the election results. More than 1,350 individuals have been charged in connection with the Capitol assaults, according to the latest figures released by the Justice Department last week. Sentences have been handed down to about 500 of them. Trump (77 years old) had previously addressed his first day in the White House after the 2024 elections, promising during a television interview in December that he would not act like a dictator "except on the first day" of his new presidential term. This is not the first time Trump has considered those imprisoned due to the Capitol attack as "hostages" or expressed that they should be released. Trump faces legal challenges arising from four criminal charges, two of which are related to attempts to manipulate election results to overturn his loss to Biden. Trump is close to officially securing the Republican nomination for the upcoming presidential election. Polls indicate that the former president holds an advantage over Biden in the 2024 election.