During his 2024 presidential race, Donald Trump repeatedly promised to pardon the January 6 rioters — who he described as "hostages" — if he won the election. And Trump did exactly that after returning to the presidency on Monday, January 20, 2025.

President Trump pardoned more than 1500 defendants who faced charges in connection with the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol Building, including some who were charged with violent crimes. Many Trump critics denounced the pardon as an attack on the rule of law. But according to New York Times reporter Aishvarya Kavi, there was a celebratory mood outside a jail in Washington, D.C.

A combination of "family members, fervent supporters and former detainees" gathered outside that detention center to celebrate the pardons, Kavi reports in an article published by the Timeson January 21. And some of them were dancing to the Village People's 1978 disco hit "YMCA," which has become an unlikely favorite at Trump and MAGA events despite its longtime connection to gay culture.

"The scene outside the jail was a departure from the usual vigil held in the back of the facility, under windows that the detainees can peer out of," Kavi explains. "Men and women who were imprisoned and their families called supporters throughout the night, updating them on the status of their release — but also, to proclaim their innocence, as they ordinarily do."

Kavi continues, "The crowd had been buoyed by Mr. Trump's promise to issue sweeping pardons on Day 1 of his presidency. They were already anticipating the fulfillment of another vow of his, to pursue his rivals by prosecuting them. Mr. Trump told NBC News in December that the entire January 6 Committee 'should go to jail.'"

The Times reporter notes that many supporters of the January 6 rioters "sought to rewrite the violent history of the January 6 attack — a narrative that Mr. Trump himself has endorsed at rallies, in news conferences and on television."

Goshen, Indiana resident and MAGA supporter Scott Tapley, who was outside the jail, told the Times, "I'm so glad to see they’re being released. This is just an unspeakably joyous, happy day."

Reprinted with permission from Alternet