WASHINGTON, D.C. January 6, 2026 – On the fifth anniversary of the January 6, 2021, events at the U.S. Capitol, the White House posted on X (formerly Twitter) promoting a dedicated webpage at whitehouse.gov/j6, titled “January 6: A Date Which Will Live in Infamy.” The post from the official @WhiteHouse account stated: “Thousands of Americans paid the price for failures they didn’t create. President Trump delivered pardons. Pelosi admitted responsibility. The media lied. Now see the REAL Jan. 6 story,” accompanied by a graphic urging viewers to visit the site.
The webpage details President Donald Trump’s executive actions on January 20, 2025—his first day in office during his second term—granting sweeping clemency to individuals charged or convicted in connection with the Capitol events.
According to the official proclamation, Trump issued:
– Full, unconditional pardons to nearly all defendants (approximately 1,600 individuals described as “patriotic Americans”), resulting in immediate releases from incarceration and dismissals of pending charges.
– Commutations of sentences to time served for 14 specific individuals, including leaders from groups such as the Oath Keepers (e.g., Stewart Rhodes, Kelly Meggs) and Proud Boys (e.g., Ethan Nordean, Joseph Biggs).
The site frames these pardons as correcting alleged injustices, claiming many defendants were overcharged, subjected to harsh conditions, or used as “political examples” by a “weaponized” Department of Justice under the previous administration. It emphasizes that most were peaceful protesters or trespassers exercising First Amendment rights.
The page also references a December 2024 U.S. House interim report, asserting security failures under then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s leadership, including rejected offers of National Guard assistance from Trump and partisan biases in subsequent investigations.
The White House post and webpage present an alternate narrative to mainstream accounts of January 6, portraying the events as exacerbated by leadership failures rather than an organized insurrection.
Reactions to the post were mixed, with supporters praising it as revealing “the truth” and critics accusing the administration of rewriting history. The post garnered over 17,000 likes and significant engagement within hours.
Trump had promised during his 2024 campaign to pardon many January 6 defendants, a pledge he fulfilled on Inauguration Day 2025. Subsequent reports have noted ongoing debates, including rearrests of some pardoned individuals for unrelated offenses and expansions of clemency to cover related charges.
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