New Delhi: Former US President Donald Trump has demanded the release of those jailed for the 2021 Capitol attack, downplaying his role in the siege. He claimed that they were mistreated by the Biden administration.
Speaking at a campaign event in Clinton, Iowa, Trump called those jailed in the wake of the January 6, 2021 attack "hostages," reported Reuters
"They've suffered enough," Trump said, adding "I call them hostages. Some people call them prisoners."
More than 1,200 people have been charged with taking part in the riot, and more than 900 have either pleaded guilty or been convicted following a trial, according to Reuters.
Speaking to more than a thousand supporters in a school gymnasium, Trump repeated his unfounded claims that the 2020 election was fraudulent and cast himself as a victim of political persecution.
"I got indicted because I challenged the crooked election," Trump told the crowd, Reuters reported.
Though Trump faces a bevy of state and federal charges for his attempts to subvert the election, he has not been charged with instigating the 2021 insurrection, when a mob of Trump supporters stormed the Capitol as legislators were certifying President Joe Biden's 2020 election victory.
During the campaign events in Iowa, Trump's supporters as well as supporters of other Republican presidential hopefuls have downplayed the significance of the 2021 Capitol attack, and many have embraced conspiracy theories regarding the events of that day.
Trump himself has suggested during previous campaign stops that undercover FBI agents played a significant role in instigating the attack, an account not supported by official investigations, as per the report.
Biden has repeatedly called Trump a threat to democracy on the campaign trail, and that messaging has emerged as a central theme of his campaign so far.
President Kamala Harris extensively discussed the events of the January 6 assault during an event in South Carolina last Saturday, reported Reuters.