On the 2024 campaign trail, former President Donald Trump has consistently referred to participants in the January 6 insurrection convicted for attacking the US Capitol as "hostages." This has angered at least one family member of one of the 130+ hostages still being held captive by the radical Islamic terrorist group Hamas.
Hamas' October 7, 2023 attack on Israel resulted in roughly 1,200 deaths, and the group also absconded with roughly 240 hostages. Of those taken, approximately 34 are presumed dead, and the number may be as high as 50. As of the end of November, Hamas released 109. Six to eight of those hostages are US citizens. The remaining hostages are still unaccounted for as Israel's offensive in Gaza drags on.
Earlier this week, NBC News reported that one unidentified family member of a Hamas captive sharply criticized Trump for his use of the word "hostages" when describing people convicted by a jury for attacking the US Capitol, adding that it was "excruciatingly painful" for them.
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"It's not the same as being kidnapped, dragged across the border and taken into a tunnel beneath Gaza, where you’re held for months in the dark. That’s a hostage," the family member told NBC. "It's not just inaccurate and painful, it's cruel."
Trump has repeatedly said he would pardon an unspecified number of January 6 defendants, particularly those jailed in Washington, DC. As New York University law school's Just Security publication previously reported, nearly all of the 29 DC defendants convicted for their role in the insurrection attacked police officers. Of the 27 charged with assaulting law enforcement officers, 19 have already been convicted by juries or entered guilty pleas. The remaining eight are still awaiting trial, and may possibly be negotiating plea deals with the Department of Justice.
NBC News delved into some of the other defendants Trump may pardon should he win a second term in the White House. One of those defendants, Daniel Ball, has already been convicted on two counts of battery on law enforcement officers in a separate case not related to January 6.
"The FBIsays that after breaching the building, Ball went around to the lower west tunnel, where some of the worst violence of the day took place, and shoved officers fighting to keep the mob out of the building," NBC reported. "Ball then moved back, 'hunched over, and looked down at something in front of his torso' before hurling an object — an explosive device, authorities say — into the lower west tunnel packed with officers fending off the mob."
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Another defendant, John Banuelos, even carried a gun while participating in the Capitol attack, and at one point fired it, though he didn't injure or kill anyone. NBC reported that Banuelos "has an extensive criminal history, including five convictions," and months after the insurrection stabbed a 19-year-old at park in Utah. He claimed self-defense and was not charged for the stabbing.
While Trump has not backed down from his rhetoric about January 6, some of his top surrogates have followed suit and reversed their own previous stances about the attack. Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-New York), who is the chair of the House Republican Conference, is thought to be on the shortlist to be Trump's 2024 running mate. Earlier this year she was caught deleting statements from her website condemning the insurrection and calling for rioters to be prosecuted.
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