The promise of pardons or commutations on day one of a second Trump administration drew raucous cheers from Evangelical conference attendees.
Former President Donald Trump has pledged to appoint a task force to investigate alleged political persecution by the Biden administration if elected to a second term.
The 77-year-old former president and leading Republican candidate made the promise before the more than 1,000 attendees at the Pray, Vote, Stand Summit in Washington on Sept. 15.
“To reverse these cruel travesties of justice, tonight I’m announcing that the moment I win the election, I will appoint a special task force to rapidly review the cases of every political prisoner who has been unjustly persecuted by the Biden administration,” President Trump said.
The gathering of evangelical Christians focused on political activism and also drew presidential hopefuls former Vice President Mike Pence, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy.
While Mr. DeSantis won a standing ovation and others were received warmly, the crowd lavished its attention on President Trump with frequent, sustained applause and shouts of encouragement.
President Trump spoke for just over an hour, recounting the promises he had kept to Christian voters in his first term and listing the actions he would take on their behalf in a second administration.
Regarding those he termed political prisoners, President Trump said he would review the cases quickly and “sign their pardons or commutations on day one.”
“It’s a horrible thing what’s happening—22 years, 18 years, 10 years. It’s a terrible thing,” President Trump said. Though he did not mention specific cases, a 22-year prison sentence was recently given to Enrique Tarrio, former leader of the Proud Boys, for crimes related to Jan. 6.
“There’s never been a thing like this happen in our country,” President Trump continued.
“Never again will the federal government be used to target religious believers, and that’s what they’re doing. They’re targeting many people, but also, and in particular, religious believers,” he said.
