Donald Trump spent the four years that followed the insurrection of January 6, 2021 trying to rewrite the chapter of chaos and violence that inspired by the emergence of his supporters to the United States Capitol. A rewriting that on the first day of his new presidency finished completing with pints and reductions of penalties for those involved in the assault, including which there are leaders of militias of the extreme right and people who faced the police that day.
If the criminal repercussions intended to serve as a deterrent to avoid acts of political violence in the future, the pardons to more than 1,500 people go in the opposite direction. “It means more than rewriting what happened on January 6,” says Robert Pape, director of the CPOST Safety Threat Research Center (for the acronym in English of Chicago Project on Security and Threats) At the University of Chicago, he directs. “It is the legitimation of new January 6 in the future,” explains Pape, who has investigated those accused of the assault on the Capitol.
On Monday, members of the Ultra Proud Boys organization paraded in procession by Washington, raising a congratulations to Trump for victory, a visible demonstration of the good reception that the new administration has between the extreme right. Enrique Tarrio, former president of Proud Boys nationwide, was one of those who received the total pardon. Stewart Rhodes, founder of the Ultraderechista Oath Keepers militia, was commuted.
“This will have relevant consequences for the normalization of political violence in the future; Many of the people to whom the pardon has been granted represent a permanent threat of political violence in the future, ”says Pape.
There were also people who did not participate directly in the violent acts of January 6 but contributed to the case. According to Pape’s investigation, among those convicted of minor, non -violent and low -level crimes there are almost 500 people “who participated consciously and voluntarily in the violent aspects of the siege of the Capitol.” “Without this extensive group, the siege would probably have never produced, or the police would have ended quickly,” he adds.
According to a survey published on Tuesday by Reuters/Ipsos, pardons to all those involved do not have the generalized support of the population. Almost 60% of respondents replied that Trump should not pardon all ‘j6ers’, as they call them for an abbreviation of the English date. He probe From Yougov prior to the investiture reflected a similar opinion: most, also among the Republicans, opposes pardoning the people who had committed violent acts.
“As many supporters of President Trump recognize, it would be hypocritical and dangerous for a president to pardon hundreds of people convicted of assaulting the forces of the order, among other violent acts, then running as the candidate against the crime and for the restoration of the law And the order, ”says a statement on the survey.
“Free at last”
In the hours that followed the granting of the pardons, the videos and photos of people who were released in prisons from all over the country thanks to Trump’s firm. In a video you see a man cutting with scissors the electronic shackle of his ankle. “Free finally,” he says. Others published photos of themselves or the papers of their pardon, celebrating their freedom and thanking Trump.
On Monday night, the multimillionaire of Trump’s technology and ally Elon Musk offered to help everyone who had not yet been released. “Please, see us if you have any difficulty with the release of your loved ones,” he wrote on the social network of his property.
Trump also ordered the Department of Justice to give up the accusations for cases yet to judge, throwing the years of work that the Department of Justice has invested in identifying and processing the insurgents of the Capitol.
The NBC News chain has reported the appointment of Ed Martin as an interim prosecutor for Washington DC, which makes it responsible for all the processing related to the assault on the Capitol (the city of Washington is in the district). As a conservative lawyer, Martin has defended accused by the insurrection of January 6 and is part of the ‘Stop The Steal’ movement, which denounces without evidence a puchenozo during the presidential elections that Trump lost in 2020.
When journalists asked John Thune on Tuesday, leader of the Republican majority in the Senate, his response was to point to Biden for which he had granted when he left the presidency. Others said in Washington that the defendants had fulfilled enough time for their crimes.
Pamela Hephill, one of the people convicted of his performance on January 6, said he would reject Trump’s pardon. Repenting for his participation, which is known as the “grandmother Maga” has become a defender of Trump’s Democratic and Critical Party.
But most celebrated the decision. Jacob Chansley, the ‘shaman Qanon’ and perhaps the most visible face of the insurgents, wrote on Twitter/X that his lawyer had just given the news of the pardon in his favor. “Now I’m going to buy some motherfucker weapons !!! I love this country! God bless US !!!! ”.
Several of those who have talked about their cases in public have books publishing their participation on January 6, or giving talks on the subject. Others have founded organizations to help those involved in the assault on January 6.
Several people involved and their supporters have also talked about seeking revenge for what they consider a system rigged against them due to their political opinions. The language used in Trump’s pardon could serve as proof of excessive punishment, giving rise to possible civil lawsuits against the government to be compensated or repaired by charges or for the past time in prison.
In Trump’s pardons accusations against them are defined as a “serious national injustice perpetrated over the last four years against the American people.”
In the days before his investiture, Trump did not finish defining himself on the subject. He did not commit to a general pardon but did not rule it out either. Outstanding members of the Republican Party, such as Vice President JD Vance, rejected a pardon for those convicted of the violent acts of January 6, which aroused a hard reaction by the defendants and their supporters.
“The weak were looking for a hypersterilized measure for the 6E hostages,” said Charlie Kirk, leader of the Turning Point USA Younger Group. “Trump wanted a bold measure to save people from tyrannical instrumentalization of justice; He has achieved it; All this has been for him. ”
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