Donald Trump Pardons Violent January 6 Insurrectionists Who Assaulted Police Officers Arrow

In response to Donald Trump pardoning January 6 insurrectionists, DNC Rapid Response Director Alex Floyd released the following statement:

"Donald Trump just pardoned the violent insurrectionists he rallied to storm the Capitol on January 6 - rioters who assaulted police officers and attacked our democracy. On Day One, Trump is already making clear that he'll follow through on his dangerous campaign promises of revenge and retribution that put violent criminals over law enforcement."

Immediately after assuming office, Trump followed through on his promise to pardon January 6 rioters who violently assaulted police officers.

Associated Press: "Trump issues sweeping pardon of 1,500 Jan. 6 defendants, including rioters who attacked police"

"President Donald Trump on Monday pardoned more than 1,500 of his supporters charged with crimes in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol, including people who assaulted police, using his clemency powers on his first day in office to dismantle the largest investigation and prosecution in Justice Department history.

"Among those set to be released from prison are defendants captured on camera committing violent attacks on law enforcement as lawmakers met to certify President Joe Biden's 2020 election victory. Leaders of the Oath Keepers and Proud Boys extremist groups convicted of seditious conspiracy in the most serious cases brought by the Justice Department will also be freed from prison after having their sentences commuted.

"The pardons were expected after Trump's yearslong campaign to rewrite the history of the Jan. 6 attack that left more than 100 police officers injured and threatened the peaceful transfer of power."

Paula Reid, CNN: "We're talking about people like Stewart Rhodes. He's one of the people who received a commutation, leader of the Oath Keepers. He was sentenced to 18 years in prison and was found guilty of seditious conspiracy by a jury. But as interesting as commutations are, the people who received pardons are also quite surprising. … the group that got pardons includes individuals like Julian Khater, who assaulted a U.S. police officer, Brian Sicknick, and later pled guilty to assaulting a police officer with a dangerous weapon. Devlyn Thompson, who hit a police officer with a metal baton, and Robert Palmer, who is the Florida man who attacked police with a fire extinguisher, a wooden plank, and a pole."

Trump - who has previously called January 6 a "beautiful day" - continues to praise the violent insurrectionists, who he calls "hostages" and "patriots" that were "treated unfairly."

Trump: "January 6, it was the largest crowd I've ever spoken to. And they were there proud, they were there with love in their heart. That was an unbelievable - and it was a beautiful day."

The Hill: "Trump describes imprisoned Jan. 6 rioters as 'hostages'"

Trump: "Those people were treated very harshly […] nobody was killed on January 6. But I think that the people on January 6 were treated very unfairly […] they were there to complain about an election, and you know it's very interesting, the biggest crowd I've ever spoken to."

TIME: "Trump has sought to recast the insurrectionist riot as an act of patriotism. 'I call them the J-6 patriots,' Trump tells TIME. When asked whether he would consider pardoning every one of them, he says: 'Yes, absolutely.'"

​​Washington Post: ​​"Former president Donald Trump on Thursday praised and embraced a woman convicted of defying police orders on the U.S. Capitol grounds on Jan. 6, 2021. … Trump has steadily escalated his advocacy for people charged in the Capitol riot, including by pledging to pardon them if he returns to the White House, praising them as patriots, participating in a recording with Jan. 6 prisoners singing the national anthem, and playing it at his first rally of the 2024 campaign last month."

To this day, Trump is still pushing lies about his loss by over 7 million votes in the 2020 election, and Vance is right there with him.

Trump: "2020- by the way, that election was totally rigged. … It was a rigged election."

Associated Press: "[Trump] is flooding the airwaves and his social media platform with distortions, misinformation and unfounded conspiracy theories about his defeat."

NBC News: "Re-litigating the 2020 election, repeating false claims it was stolen and casting aspersions on the security of mail voting remain major fixtures for [Trump] on the stump. […] He regularly refers to the 2020 election as 'rigged' on his social media channels."

HuffPost: "[Vance] said he would accept a Biden win only if he considered the election to be legitimate. […] Vance's comments illustrate a new tactic by Republican lawmakers, who are now placing conditions on accepting election results."

New York Times: "J.D. Vance Says He Would Accept the Election Results, With a Caveat"

Vance: "I think the entire post-2020 thing would have gone a lot better if there had actually been an effort to provide alternative slates of electors, and to force us to have that debate. I think it would've been a much better thing for the country. […] [Trump] was trying to take a constitutional process to its natural conclusion.

"I think it would've been extraordinarily disappointing to a whole host of people that I care a lot about if Trump had just taken it [and conceded the 2020 election before January 6]."

Vance: "No real Republican with any credibility in the party is still blaming [Trump for January 6]."

ABC News: "JD Vance says [he] wouldn't have certified 2020 race until states submitted pro-Trump electors"

New York Times: "[Vance] has said that, unlike Vice President Mike Pence in 2020, he would have helped Mr. Trump overturn the results, by accepting Trump electors that had not been elected by voters."

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