In 2020, Trump became the first sitting president to attend the rally in person, although George W. Bush and Ronald Reagan also addressed it remotely.
This time, Vice President J.D. Vance will attend in person.
The event has been held in the US capital every year since 1974, the year after abortion was legalized by the Supreme Court in Roe v. Wade.
Abortion rights have been a key issue in recent presidential races, and the court overturned the decision in 2022.
In signing the pardon, Trump said of the activists: “They should not have been prosecuted. Many of them are elderly people… It is a great honor to sign this. They will be very happy.”
American media reports that one of those pardoned is Lauren Handy, leader of the Progressive Anti-Abortion Uprising (PAAU).
The group was convicted of conspiring in 2020 to storm a reproductive health clinic in Washington and block access to intimidate patients and staff. The participants broke into the Surgi clinic, injuring a nurse, and spent several hours there.
Handy was found guilty in August 2023 and sentenced in May 2024.
Her supporters welcomed the pardon, saying the sentences were political.
Susan B Anthony Pro-Life America President Marjorie Dannenfelser said the protesters were targeted by Joe Biden’s Justice Department, and she thanked Trump for “immediately following through on his promise” to pardon them.
But abortion rights activists said the pardon reaffirmed their belief that Trump is opposed to abortion, despite saying during his presidential campaign that individual states should decide whether to allow the practice.
Ryan Stitzlein of the national abortion rights organization Reproductive Freedom for All told the AP: “Donald Trump tried to have it both ways on the campaign trail — bragging about his role in overturning Roe v. Wade while saying he wasn’t going to take abortion measures.
“We never believed it was true, and this shows us that we were right.”
