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President-elect Donald Trump has pledged to issue broad pardons for those found guilty of various crimes committed during the insurrection of Jan. 6, 2021. There are around 1,600 convicts that Trump’s sweeping pardons might cover, and their crimes range from non-violent misdemeanors all the way up to seditious conspiracy against the United States. The attempted autocoup led to the deaths of several police officers and one civilian and injured more than 140 D.C. and Capitol Police officers, but defendants say that they were only following the direct orders of the then-President of the United States, Donald Trump.
In his latest statements, Trump left room for himself to possibly refrain from pardoning the most violent offenders when he takes office later this month, should he choose to do so, but he also did not rule their pardon out.
Watch the above video as Straight Arrow News contributor Adrienne Lawrence reacts to Donald Trump’s promise to issue broad pardons for Jan. 6 offenders and explains why she says it’s such a dangerous and un-American thing to even consider, especially for violent offenders.
The following is an excerpt from the above video:
But history tells us that we must not let violence become the foundation for political power. Pardoning these individuals would effectively endorse their actions, allowing them to return to the very groups that radicalize them, reinvigorating a movement grounded in hate and division. In the broader conversation about criminal justice reform, we can’t forget that justice must be about accountability.
Yes, reform is vital, but it must be reform that ensures our laws equally apply to all people, that punishes violence with the severity it deserves, and that protects our institutions from those who wish to destroy them. A pardon for the J6 insurrectionists would set us back in terms of that important work.
We the People deserve a criminal justice system that holds perpetrators accountable, not one that releases them to continue their dangerous work. Pardoning insurrectionists would be a betrayal to the values that bind us together as a society. It would convey a message that some people, because of their political beliefs, are above the law, while others face harsher consequences for lesser offenses.
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