Southern California-based defendants who took part in the attack on the U.S. Capitol following Donald Trump’s 2020 electoral loss could be among the winners of Trump’s imminent return to the White House if the president-elect follows through on promises of clemency related to the Jan. 6 riot.

Throughout the campaign season, Trump repeatedly pledged pardons for Jan. 6 defendants, though exactly how wide-ranging such expected acts of clemency would extend — and whether they would cover those who targeted police officers during the attack on the Capitol — remains unclear.

Nationwide, approximately 1,500 people have been charged in connection with the Jan. 6 insurrection, according to the Department of Justice. The alleged crimes range from individuals accused of essentially trespassing in restricted areas to those accused of conspiring to take part in a riot, attacking police officers or even organizing far-right followers in a concerted effort to stop the transfer of presidential power by turning the crowd at the Capitol into a mob pointed at lawmakers.

Those Jan. 6 defendants have included several dozen with ties to Southern California, including conservative leaders who went from organizing Orange County and Los Angeles anti-mask rallies in the midst of the pandemic to teaming up with members of militant groups in the Inland Empire to join the mob in Washington D.C.

Democratic leaders in Congress over the past few years have argued that the violent events of Jan. 6 were not the result of a crowd that grew out of control, but instead the culmination of a months-long effort by Trump and his allies to remain in power despite losing the 2020 election.

While on the campaign trail, Trump repeatedly painted Jan. 6 defendants as “hostages” or “political prisoners” while downplaying the violence that took place during the breach of the Capitol. In a private event reported earlier this year in the New York Times, Trump at one point reportedly told Jan. 6 defendants and families “What you’ve suffered is just ridiculous. But it’s going to be ok.”

The president’s power to pardon those convicted of a federal offense is absolute and at his “complete discretion,” said Lawrence Rosenthal, a Chapman University law professor and a former federal prosecutor.

“It is as if the individual was never convicted,” Rosenthal said of the impact on those granted pardons.

It isn’t yet clear whether Trump is considering proactively pardoning Jan. 6 defendants, or if there would be a process for them to request clemency.

The Office of the Pardon Attorney at the Department of Justice has traditionally — though certainly not always — vetted official pardon requests. But the president is not required to rely on that office. And those seeking pardons from past presidents have often sought to reach out to people with influence over the president to expedite their requests.

“People do make proactive efforts,” Rosenthal said.

Most Southern California-based Jan. 6 defendants ultimately admitted to low-level charges  and have already received short stints behind bars or supervised release and community service.

While a pardon for those individuals would clear up their criminal record, the actual terms of their court-imposed punishments have likely already run their course. A pardon, in those cases, would strip them of their convictions.

But presidential pardons, depending on how wide-ranging they end up being, could have a significant on some of the most high-profile Jan. 6 cases with Southern California ties, including possibly freeing those currently serving lengthy prison sentences.

Alan Hostetter, a former La Habra police chief-turned yoga instructor and conservative Orange County activist who called for the execution of his enemies after the 2020 elections, is currently serving an 11 year, 3 month federal prison sentence after joining a mob of rioters during the Jan 6 insurrection.

Hostetter, a former San Clemente resident, was not accused of taking part in any direct violence. But prosecutors allege that he transported weapons across the country, joined a group of rioters at the Capitol while armed with a hatchet and was “eager to stoke the fires of the revolution.”

According to Federal Bureau of Prisons records, Hostetter, now 60, is currently housed at a low security federal correctional facility in Louisiana. Without a pardon, his current estimated release date is in mid-2033, records show.

Other high-profile local Jan. 6 defendants were accused of taking more violent roles during the breach of the Capitol.

Daniel Joseph Rodriguez, a 41-year-old Panorama City resident, was sentenced in 2023 to 12 years and seven months in federal prison for using an electroshock weapon on a police officer in the midst of the riot.

A federal judge at the time of Rodriguez’s sentencing described him as a “one-man army of hate, attacking police and destroying property (and showing) up in D.C. spoiling for a fight.” Prosecutors referred to Rodriguez — who was among those who attacked then-Metropolitan Police Officer Michael Fanone — as “one of the most violent” of the Jan 6 defendants. Immediately after the riot, Rodriguez bragged about his actions, posting that he had “Tazzzzzzed the (expletive) out of the blue.”

Federal prison records indicate that Rodriguez — who is listed as being housed in a federal facility in Los Angeles with a current release date would be in early 2032.

Jeffrey Scott Brown, a 57-year-old Santa Ana resident, was sentenced to four and a half years in federal prison for spraying pepper spray at retreating police officers in the midst of the riot. While in the midst of a crowd of rioters in a standoff with officers within a tunnel on the Capitol grounds, Brown took a canister from another person, made his way to the front of the line of protestors and sprayed an orange liquid above the heads of a line of officers.

Brown is currently housed at the low security federal prison in Lompoc, and has an estimated release date of December 2025.

At least one high-profile local Jan. 6 defendant could avoid federal trial if pardoned.

Kim Michael Sorgente, a member of the Orange County conservative activist community, is facing a civil disorder charge, among other allegations, after the FBI reported that he was seen with a megaphone in the midst of the Jan. 6 riots, shouting at officers “How dare you? How dare you, traitors? How dare you traitors.” He is currently awaiting trial in federal court, records show.

With Trump’s recent electoral victory, some attorneys for Jan. 6 defendants currently awaiting trial moved quickly to request a halt to the criminal cases.

Some federal judges have denied such requests, describing them as “speculative.” But two federal judges on Thursday agreed to postpone criminal trials for Jan. 6 defendants, Politico reported, reportedly finding that the potential pardons could make such legal proceedings unnecessary.

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