(Dmytro “Henry” Aleksandrov, Headline USA) Donald Trump pledged to more than 1,000 attendees at the Pray, Vote, Stand Summit in Washington, D.C. on Sept. 15, 2023, that he would appoint a task force to investigate political persecution by the Biden regime when elected to a second term.
“To reverse these cruel travesties of justice, tonight I’m announcing that the moment I win the election, I will appoint a special task force to rapidly review the cases of every political prisoner who has been unjustly persecuted by the Biden administration,” he said, as reported by the Epoch Times.
Aside from Trump, Mike Pence, R–Ind., Gov. Ron DeSantis, R-Fla. and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy — other 2024 presidential candidates — appeared at the political gathering of evangelical Christians.
For over just an hour, Trump spoke, recounting the promises he had kept to Christian voters in his first term. He also listed the things that he planned to do in his second administration, among which were reviewing the cases of political prisoners quickly and signing “their pardons or commutations on day one.”
“It’s a horrible thing what’s happening—22 years, 18 years, 10 years. It’s a terrible thing. There’s never been a thing like this happen in our country,” Trump said.
Even though he didn’t talk about the specific cases, by mentioning the 22-year prison sentence, he acknowledged Enrique Tarrio, a former leader of the Proud Boys, who was sent to prison for 22 years for crimes related to Jan. 6, 2021.
“Never again will the federal government be used to target religious believers, and that’s what they’re doing. They’re targeting many people, but also, and in particular, religious believers,” Trump said, adding that “Americans of faith are not a threat to our country” but rather “the soul of our country.”
During a town hall hosted by CNN at Saint Anselm College in New Hampshire, Trump said he would “most likely” pardon “a large portion” of the Jan. 6 defendants and would do so “very early on.” His September 15 statements were the first time when he mentioned using a special task force and issuing pardons on his first day in office.
