Trump should not pardon Capitol rioters
In the aftermath of the violent riots at the Capitol on Jan. 6, calls are growing among some of those arrested and indicted for President Trump to pardon them in the waning days of his administration.
The most notable of these is Jacob Chansley aka Jake Angeli aka The “QAnon Shaman” who infamously paraded the hallowed halls of Congress in a furry, horned costume and patriotic face paint. He is charged with obstruction of Congress, felony violation of the Federal AntiRiot Act and more, with additional charges likely coming soon.
Chansley’s lawyer appeared on CNN Thursday to plead for the president to step in on behalf of his client, saying that Chansley committed his alleged crimes because “he felt he was answering the call of our president.”
Trump should resist any temptation he might have to acquiesce to these requests.
President Trump’s actions on the day of the violence, while not rising to the level of leading an insurrection, the way some would like to suggest, did little to cool tempers in the heat of the moment. His eventual denouncement of the behavior in the Capitol was a step in the right direction, but all the good it did will be undone if he chooses to further associate and connect himself to those who crossed the line that day.
Of course, it should be noted that politicians and media figures who are sympathetic to left-wing terrorists and rioters rarely show similar restraint and good judgement.
President Obama chose to use the final week of his administration to commute the sentence of Puerto Rican terrorist and bomb maker Oscar López Rivera, whose organization carried out over 130 bomb attacks to try to gain independence for Puerto Rico.
But one doesn’t even need to look as far back into ancient history as the Obama presidency.
Vice President-elect Kamala Harris herself, just within the last year, promoted bail funds during the Black Lives Matter riots to aid arrestees.
“If you’re able to, chip in now to the @MNFreedomFund to help post bail for those protesting on the ground in Minnesota,” Harris tweeted on June 1, just two days after the governor of that state, fellow Democrat Tim Walz called the riots “an organized attempt to destabilize civil society with no regard for life or property” and suggested some of the perpetrators were tied to organized crime and domestic terrorism.
“Infrastructure and nonprofits that have served a struggling community were torn down and burned by people for no regard for what went into that,” the governor said. Is that what Harris supports?
The same question would apply to Trump if he were to attempt to aid those arrested for their actions at the Capitol this month. It should not be difficult for our elected leaders to condemn political violence in our country from all ideological groups.
Trump should not follow the bad example of Democrats in appearing to endorse violence to people and property in our country.
He should lead the nation toward a consensus that wanton destruction and the threat of physical harm have no place in our political discourse, and the best way to do that is to decline to pardon those who are accused of committing such acts and let justice run its course.