WASHINGTON (AP) — After President Donald Trump Around 1,500 of the January 6 capital rioters were pardoned on Monday, with far-right activists hailing the move as strengthening their loyalty. Some even borrowed from the president’s own statements, calling for retribution.
“We’ll never forget, we’ll never forgive. You can’t get rid of us,” a California chapter of the right-wing Proud Boys posted on Telegram.
“You are on notice. This is not going to end well for you,” read one X post from an exonerated rioter addressed to anyone “trying to continue trying to hold my brothers hostage. are.”
Enrique Terriothe former National Proud Boys leader whose 22-year sentence on treason conspiracy charges was commuted by Trump, went on the Conspiracy Theorist’s podcast. Alex Jones After his release.
“The people who did it, they need to feel the heat,” Terrio said. “We need to find them and put them behind bars for what they did.”
The apologies and statements of revenge by some of those released this week have raised concerns among lawyers, former federal investigators and experts who track extremism. They fear that the indiscriminate release of anyone involved in the riots could embolden extremists and generalize political violence, including over contentious political issues such as border security and elections.
“This initiative doesn’t just rewrite the narrative of January 6,” said Heidi Berich, co-founder of the Global Project Against Hate and Extremism. “It sets a dangerous precedent that political violence is a legitimate tool in American democracy.”
Not all charges involve violence, and many who have been pardoned appear ready to move on with their lives. But for some, it can become a megaphone, said Michael Primo, director of the documentary “Homegrown,” which followed three right-wing activists, including a proud boy, who led the riots. I participated.
“This will build a base of support so that when the next election cycle comes around … there is a chance to ensure that Trump is in power or that his successor is in office,” Primo said.
Trump’s sweeping pardon order on Monday delivered on a campaign promise for the rioters he often calls “patriots” and “political prisoners.” He pardoned or committed to dismissing the cases of almost everyone involved in the January 6 riots. 14 defendants, including several convicted of treason, had their sentences commuted.
People were arrested on orders to be released from jail. Brutal attack on camera police Along with this, leaders of far-right extremist groups have also been convicted. Orchestrating violent plots Preventing the peaceful transfer of power after them Defeat in 2020 election.
He also pardoned rioters who had been convicted of obstructing official proceedings and had already served their terms. Among them is Jacob Chanceley, who was widely recognized for his horned fur hat during the riots. Chanceley celebrated the news of his pardon with an explanation on social platform X, “Now I’m gonna buy some momma…guns!!!”
The previous Metropolitan Police Officer Michael Fanonwho lost consciousness and suffered a heart attack after a riot Stun him with a stun gunsaid he tried and failed this week to get a protective order against the men who assaulted him and was let out of jail.
The problem is that he hasn’t been able to determine where his attackers now live, which Trump’s Justice Department would have given him if the agency still considered him a victim.
Because of the pardon, he and his family are saved for themselves. “We have no choice,” he said, “except to buy guns.”
Barb McQuade, a former U.S. attorney in Michigan who has written critically about Trump’s messaging, said she worries that even pardoning violent criminals signals that “political violence is acceptable.” Acceptable when it is committed in the service of the leader.”
Many pardoned rioters and others who organized events around Jan. 6 responded to the news with reverence for Trump.
“I will storm the Capitol again for Donald Trump,” Stop the Steel organizer Ali Alexander, who helped organize the rallies before the attack but was not charged with any crime, said in the apology. said in a Telegram live stream the next day. “I would start a militia for Donald Trump. I dare say I would die for Donald Trump, obviously.
Terrio called Trump “the best president I think since George Washington.”
“I love you, I love you. Elon Muskand I love President Donald Trump and I’m glad we’re all going to work together to make America great again,” Terrio said during his interview with Jones, the conspiracy theorist who that he had lost a defamation case for spreading lies. The 2012 Sandy Hook school massacre killed 20 first-graders and six teachers.
Terrio was not in Washington when members of the Proud Boys joined the riots, following a judge’s order to leave the city after being arrested on charges that he defaced a Black Lives Matter banner during an earlier rally. what was During his sentencing, he called January 6 a “national embarrassment”, apologizing to police officers and lawmakers and insisting he had been politicized.
Stewart Rhodesthe founder of the far-right Oath Keepers militia who was found guilty of planning a week-long plot that culminated in his followers storming the Capitol, told reporters outside a District of Columbia jail on Tuesday. Told that January 6 should be remembered as “patriotic”. day.”
“I’m only guilty of opposing people who are destroying the country,” said Rhodes, whose 18-year sentence on treason conspiracy charges was commuted by Trump. “We stood up for our country because we knew the election was stolen. Biden didn’t get 81 million votes.”
The results of the 2020 elections have been confirmed. Reviews, Count again And Audit In all six Battleground states Where Trump disputed his loss. This includes, Arizona And Georgiawhich at the time had Republican governors and secretaries of state. Trump’s Your Attorney General said there was no evidence of widespread fraud, and a Associated Press review Six states revealed that there were very few cases of potential fraud that would have no impact on the outcome.
Rhodes visited Capitol Hill on Wednesday to advocate for the release of another defendant. Representative Jamie Raskina Democrat from Maryland who was on the House committee investigating the attack, questioned whether he and the other defendants had been rehabilitated by the shorter sentences.
“These people are certainly not innocent, and they did not suffer any procedural injustice,” he said. “So, the question is, are they remorseful? Are they remorseful? Have they been reformed or are they still a threat to police officers and the government in different parts of the country?
Rhodes maintained Wednesday that he came to Washington to protest the election results in 2021, but did not “lead anything” on Jan. 6 and did not claim responsibility for the riot. He did not enter the building that day and was said by other members of the Oath Keepers to have made a “stupid” decision, but was not guilty.
Larry Rosenthal, head of the UC Berkeley Center for Right-Wing Studies, said that a hallmark of fascism throughout history has been the marriage of private militias to political parties. In fascist Italy, such groups work on behalf of the party in power to punish political enemies who don’t fall into line, he said.
Rosenthal said that in light of Trump’s pardon, militia groups already active on the U.S. southern border will likely seek approval from the Trump administration as their immigration enforcement plans begin.
The question, he said, is whether the Trump administration will bring them into its fold.
Asked Tuesday if there was room for the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers in his movement, Trump said, “Well, we’ll see. They’ve been pardoned. I thought their phrasing was ridiculous and needed.” were more than
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Swenson reported from New York.
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