Trump calls on Biden to 'release the J6 hostages'

On Saturday, former President Donald Trump called on President Biden to release his supporters who have been unfairly targeted by the federal government for participating in the events that occurred during the Jan. 6 protest at the US Capitol in 2021.

Trump, who is the current Republican frontrunner in the 2024 presidential primary election, referred to the Jan. 6 political prisoners as "hostages" and demanded their release. The comments were made during a speech in Clinton, Iowa on the third anniversary of the Jan. 6 protest at the US Capitol.

"They outta release them," said Trump to a large crowd of supporters. "I call them hostages, some people call them prisoners, I call them hostages."
 

"Release the J6 hostages, Joe!" Trump demanded, his voice rising. "Release them, Joe! You can do them real easy, Joe. This guy, what he's done to people."

In the nearly two years since the events of Jan. 6, 2021, at the Capitol building, the Department of Justice under President Joe Biden has been busy identifying, arresting, and punishing those who were involved.

Over 1,200 people have been apprehended in connection with the day thus far. According to data from the DOJ reviewed by the Washington Examiner, by the end of 2023, nearly 850 years of prison time has been handed down to around 450 defendants. While the majority have received sentences of only a few days, others who committed more serious offenses that day now face years, and in some cases decades, behind bars.

Trump's remarks come after President Biden delivered an eerie address to the American people from Valley Forge, Pennsylvania on Friday, claiming that Trump and his "MAGA extremist" supporters are a "threat to democracy." Biden stated that "we nearly lost America" on Jan. 6 and called Trump both "sick" and a "loser" during his remarks.

Biden even went so far as to compare Trump to Adolf Hitler saying that the former Republican president is "echoing the same exact language used in Nazi Germany."

Before leaving the stage, Biden yelled out "I understand power."

Donald Trump and Republican legislators have accused President Biden of weaponizing the Justice Department to target his political opponents. This after Biden's DOJ has indicted Trump on multiple charges, including his alleged role on Jan. 6, in a series of indictments, which Trump claims is "election interference."

During his earlier trip to Newton, Iowa, on Saturday, which is west of Des Moines, Trump stated that the current crisis at the US-Southern border is far more serious than what transpired on January 6.

"When you talk about insurrection - that, that's the real deal," said Trump, according to the Daily Mail.

Trump has vowed to pardon Jan. 6 defendants who did not commit severe offenses if he takes the White House back in 2024.