CHESAPEAKE, Virginia: Donald Trump said on Friday that his supporters prosecuted for their actions in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol should be freed, citing a Supreme Court ruling in favor of a man who challenged an obstruction charge related to the riot — a charge Trump also faces.
Speaking at a campaign rally in Virginia, the former president pointed to Friday’s ruling, which raised the legal bar for prosecutors pursuing obstruction charges in the federal election subversion case against Trump and defendants involved in the attack.
“Free the Jan. 6 hostages now. They should free them now for what they have gone through” Trump said, as the crowd cheered.
“They’ve been waiting for this decision for a long time,” Trump added.
Trump is the Republican candidate challenging Democratic President Joe Biden in the Nov. 5 US election.
The Supreme Court ruled 6-3 to throw out a lower court’s decision that had allowed a charge of corruptly obstructing an official proceeding — the congressional certification of Biden’s 2020 victory over Trump that the rioters sought to prevent — against defendant Joseph Fischer, a former police officer. The justices directed the lower court to reconsider the matter.
The ruling was a potential boost for Trump, who was hit with two obstruction-related charges as part of a four-count criminal indictment in a case brought last year by Special Counsel Jack Smith. Trump has pleaded not guilty in the case.
“That is a great thing for people that have been so horribly treated,” Trump said of the ruling.
Trump has often valorized his supporters convicted for their roles in the attack on the Capitol, calling them “patriots” and “warriors.” Among other crimes, some of them were prosecuted for violence against police officers.
The Supreme Court on Monday is expected to issue its ruling in Trump’s claim of presidential immunity from prosecution in the election subversion case brought by the special counsel. It is the final day of the court’s current term.
Citing Supreme Court ruling, Trump demands release of imprisoned Jan. 6 rioters
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Citing Supreme Court ruling, Trump demands release of imprisoned Jan. 6 rioters
- The Supreme Court had ruled 6-3 to throw out a lower court’s decision ton an obstruction charge against a former police officer involved in the January 6 pro-Trump riot
- Trump has often valorized his supporters convicted for their roles in the attack on the Capitol, calling them “patriots” and “warriors”
With Cuban ally Maduro ousted, Trump warns Havana to make a ‘deal’ before it’s too late
- Trump said on social media that Cuba long lived off Venezuelan oil and money and had offered security in return
- The government has said US sanctions cost Cuba over $7.5 billion between March 2024 and February 2025
WEST PALM BEACH, Florida: President Donald Trump on Sunday fired off another warning to the government of Cuba as the close ally of Venezuela braces for potential widespread unrest after Nicolás Maduro was deposed as Venezuela’s leader.
Cuba, a major beneficiary of Venezuelan oil, has now been cut off from those shipments as US forces continue to seize tankers in an effort to control the production, refining and global distribution of the country’s oil products.
Trump said on social media that Cuba long lived off Venezuelan oil and money and had offered security in return, “BUT NOT ANYMORE!”
“THERE WILL BE NO MORE OIL OR MONEY GOING TO CUBA — ZERO!” Trump said in the post as he spent the weekend at his home in southern Florida. “I strongly suggest they make a deal, BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE.” He did not explain what kind of deal.
Hours later, Cuba’s president, Miguel Díaz-Canel, responded on X by saying “those who turn everything into a business, even human lives, have no moral authority to point the finger at Cuba in any way, absolutely in any way.”
The Cuban government said 32 of its military personnel were killed during the American operation last weekend that captured Maduro. The personnel from Cuba’s two main security agencies were in Caracas, the Venezuelan capital, as part of an agreement between Cuba and Venezuela.
“Venezuela doesn’t need protection anymore from the thugs and extortionists who held them hostage for so many years,” Trump said Sunday. “Venezuela now has the United States of America, the most powerful military in the World (by far!), to protect them, and protect them we will.”
Trump also responded to another account’s social media post predicting that his secretary of state, Marco Rubio, will be president of Cuba: “Sounds good to me!” Trump said.
Trump and top administration officials have taken an increasingly aggressive tone toward Cuba, which had been kept economically afloat by Venezuela. Long before Maduro’s capture, severe blackouts were sidelining life in Cuba, where people endured long lines at gas stations and supermarkets amid the island’s worst economic crisis in decades.
“Those who hysterically accuse our nation today do so out of rage at this people’s sovereign decision to choose their political model,” Díaz-Canel said in his post. He added that “those who blame the Revolution for the severe economic shortages we suffer should be ashamed to keep quiet” and he railed against the “draconian measures” imposed by the US on Cuba.
The island’s communist government has said US sanctions cost the country more than $7.5 billion between March 2024 and February 2025.
Trump has said previously that the Cuban economy, battered by years of an American embargo, would slide further with the ouster of Maduro.
“It’s going down,” Trump said of Cuba. “It’s going down for the count.”
