Vice President-elect JD Vance just provided the clearest explanation yet of the Trump administrationā€˜s plans to pardon Jan. 6 rioters, telling ā€œFox News Sundayā€ that while thereā€™s ā€œa little bit of a gray area there,ā€ those who committed violence during the 2021 U.S. Capitol attack ā€œobviouslyā€ shouldnā€™t be pardoned. Those who protested ā€œpeacefully,ā€ however, can expect to have their records wiped clean.

ā€œI think itā€™s very simple,ā€ the former Ohio senator said. ā€œIf you protested peacefully on Jan. 6 and youā€™ve had Merrick Garlandā€™s Department of Justice treat you like a gang member, you should be pardoned. If you committed violence on that day, obviously you shouldnā€™t be pardoned.ā€

Vanceā€™s comments provide a stark contrast to what President-elect Donald Trump has been saying over the past few months, with the future POTUS providing little to no details about who would get the pardons heā€™s been promising except declaring that protesters who assaulted Capitol police officers ā€œhad no choiceā€ that day.