As we near the day of Donald Trump’s second inauguration on Jan. 20, the question of what type of pardons he will issue to rioters who stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021 are swirling ever more furiously.
Some on the right who diminish the riot as insignificant, argue that Trump should pardon them all on day one, as he has supposedly promised, since the entire episode was simply an excuse for Democrats to persecute conservatives as well as impeach and even imprison Trump.
Others on the left, as well as some in law enforcement, are adamant that Trump shouldn’t issue any pardons because the riot was a uniquely grievous event, an unacceptable insurrection and an attack on our democracy.
I take a more reasonable approach. I believe the entire incident was overblown and weaponized politically to intimidate Trump supporters nationwide and go after Trump himself.
So I argue that Trump should pardon all of the nonviolent protesters.
However, he should leave behind bars or simply commute the sentences of those who were convicted of being violent.
I was at the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021 as an observer providing security to a foreign television crew and wrote about what I witnessed the day after. My piece noted that based on what I saw, the Capitol riot was not a coup or insurrection, but still criminal in many ways.
And despite the claims by some of his supporters, Trump has actually always tempered his promise of pardons, saying he would pardon most if not all of the nonviolent rioters and protesters, but admitted that those few who were violent would not be treated the same.
Early on he said he would “most likely” pardon many or a “large portion” of those convicted for rioting at the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.
“And it’ll be very early on,” he added, referring to making the pardons soon after he is potentially reelected in 2024.
Trump did qualify his pardon promise by hopefully making an exception for those violent rioters who acted egregiously.
“I can’t say for every single one because a couple of them probably, they got out of control.”
Well, from what I personally witnessed, and was confirmed on videos, it was more than a “couple of them.” It was a prominent subgroup of those who participated in the Capitol riot.
So, I wish he wouldn’t be so dismissive of them.
Assaulting law enforcement officers is unacceptable whether it is done by criminals, gang bangers, Black Lives Matter (BLM) thugs or right-wing thugs.
And I saw quite a few of those latter ones on January 6.
Still, as I have argued before, despite the intense but limited violence and the killing of one unarmed protester, Air Force veteran Ashli Babbitt, by Capitol Police inside the building, this was not a murderous rampage or a deadly insurrection.
It was a political riot.
Most of those persecuted and prosecuted were simply drawn in by the initial wave who stormed in. And most, if not all, were angry because they truly “thought the election was rigged,” as Trump said on CNN.
They had what they felt were righteous grievances.
Many of them took selfies, acted stupidly or simply entered and left. But stupidity isn’t a crime. They shouldn’t be in jail for long sentences—or at all—and especially not under the conditions they are facing.
The vast majority of those convicted so far were not violent. Many made a plea deal under federal pressure or were convicted in a biased D.C. court of minor offenses such as trespassing or obstructing an official proceeding, something that would have resulted in a slap on the wrist anywhere else.
Many were unjustly targeted in a sweeping dragnet. Politicized, zealous prosecutors used novel and highly technical charges for minor, unremarkable Jan. 6th transgressions.
These persecutions, and prosecutions, ruined the lives of thousands of patriotic Americans.
They should all be pardoned.
As for those who violently attacked police at the Capitol—they should simply be treated fairly.
BLM or Antifa rioters who attacked police and the U.S. federal courthouse in Portland for months in 2020, or violently rioted and burned cities across the country, including across from the White House in D.C., did not get these sentences or horrible treatment in and out of jail, or the harsh media coverage.
Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) compared this prosecutorial effort against J6 rioters to the Justice Department’s handling of BLM rioters, noting that: “There absolutely is undeniably a double standard.”
They should all be treated the same. Some of the less serious violent J6 perpetrators should have their sentences commuted for time served, some of the worse ones may need to have their sentences reduced.
Few, if any, violent rioters should be pardoned, but all the peaceful ones should be.
As to the politics of such a move by Trump
Steve Cortes, former senior advisor to President Trump and JD Vance, and former commentator for Fox News and CNN notes in his latest Substack piece:
Well, my polling on the issue shows that it is right down the middle. Such pardons would neither be a big political success, nor a big political stumble. In a national post-election poll of 1,550 voters nationwide, Americans split 45-45% on whether or not non-violent January 6th defendants should be pardoned, with 10% unsure. This poll queried a sample universe that split exactly evenly between Trump and Harris voters on November 5th.
He concludes:
So, President Trump should feel free from serious political pressure. The “partisan winds” blow in both directions on this issue, and he should simply pursue justice, and pardon these defendants.
I agree, pardon them all, except for the truly violent ones.
The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the positions of American Liberty News.
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I was not an insurrection! The only injuries were to two women that were murdered for no reason. Pelosi and company planned the whole charade by ushering a peaceful crowd and then had the FBI initiate the disruption.
Jail TRUMP.. he incited the happening and incouraged it. President? or not, any American citizen would be jailed for a similar incident. Jail TRUMP
YES
This was clearly a situation fueled by federal law enforcement entrapment and skullduggery. There needs to be a price to pay for that, and full exoneration of those who were enticed to commit some minor crime, like pushing a barrier and making a Capitol cop fall on his butt, which our corrupt federal government made into some huge crime. Just yesterday the corrupt DOJ tried to bring charges against 200 more people whose “crime” was simply walking through the doors of the Capitol after the barriers had been taken down, often by the police and undercover feds. ALL of the J6ers should be pardoned, and they should get millions in restitution for the unconstitutional actions of corrupt prosecutors. As we often say, better for a guilty man to get off than we violate the Constitution with impunity.
Pardons should be case by case, not blanket, to make it challenging for the dinks to complain. And the definition of insurrection should be posted and explained in a post.