WHAT THEY’RE SAYING: Backlash from President Trump’s Allies on Trump’s Pardon of Violent Criminals Who Assaulted Law Enforcement

WASHINGTON, DC — This week, President Donald Trump pardoned January 6th insurrectionists who stormed the U.S. Capitol and attacked law enforcement officers. His own vice president previously stated that violent offenders should not be pardoned. 

Trump is already demonstrating through official actions his contempt for rule of law and law enforcement who risked their lives to protect the Capitol. Responses to the sweeping pardons, even from Trump’s allies, have been swift and demonstrate the unprecedented nature of Trump’s actions. Even Trump isn’t sure why he did it.

Reactions include: 

  • Police union that endorsed Trump blasts Jan. 6 pardons
    Crimes against law enforcement are not just attacks on individuals or public safety — they are attacks on society and undermine the rule of law. Allowing those convicted of these crimes to be released early diminishes accountability and devalues the sacrifices made by courageous law enforcement officers and their families. When perpetrators of crimes, especially serious crimes, are not held fully accountable, it sends a dangerous message that the consequences for attacking law enforcement are not severe, potentially emboldening others to commit similar acts of violence.” – International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) and the Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) Joint Statement

  • Capitol Police chief: Jan. 6 pardons send message that “politics is more important than policing”
    My concern is the message that it sends when people who are arrested for committing violence against police officers are not held to account.” – U.S. Capitol Police Chief Thomas Manger

  • ‘I just can’t agree’: Trump’s Jan. 6 pardons face pushback from some Republican senators
    “I think that whether you’re in Baton Rouge, New Orleans, Shreveport, Monroe, Lafayette, Alexandria, Lake Charles or Washington, D.C., it’s wrong to assault anybody — but certainly to assault an officer…I’m a big back-the-blue guy.” – Senator Bill Cassidy (R-LA)

  • ‘A Betrayal, a Mockery’: Police Express Outrage Over Trump’s Jan. 6 Pardons
    “It’s a miscarriage of justice, a betrayal, a mockery, and a desecration of the men and women that risked their lives defending our democracy.” former Capitol Police Officer, Sergeant Aquilino Gonell

  • Trump’s sweeping pardon of Capitol rioters angers dead police officer’s family
    “The man who killed my brother is now president… My brother died in vain. Everything he did to try to protect the country, to protect the Capitol – why did he bother? What Trump did is despicable, and it proves that the United States no longer has anything that resembles a justice system.” –
    Craig Sicknick, brother of Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick

  • Some Trump voters express reservations with his sweeping Jan. 6 pardons
    “I believe if [the rioters] were instructed to do something and they did not follow the officers or the police enforcement rules and follow what they said, they should be serving their time…I think it’s pretty much a slap in the face of the law establishment…Everyone else has to serve time. They should also.” – South Carolina Trump Supporter

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