Jan 6 pardons: ‘Like dogs ready to be unleashed by Trump at a moment's notice’
Donald Trump has just freed more than 1,500 people jailed for rioting in Washington in 2020, with no pushback from the Republican Party. What does this mean for America?
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In brief…
- The News Agents say Trump referring to jailed rioters as ‘J6 hostages’ is gratuitously offensive.
- There has been no criticism of his actions from the Republican Party, which once prioritised law and order in America.
- Those released are likely to be “armed to the teeth” and there are concerns Trump could mobilise these people again in the future.
What’s the story?
In 2021, Donald Trump described the Capitol insurrection in Washington as a “heinous attack”, one of “violence, lawlessness and mayhem”.
This week, he freed everyone involved who were jailed for taking part in the riot, which resulted in the death of five people and left 140 injured, now referring to them as the “J6 hostages”.
What a difference a political mandate makes.
Jon Sopel says this description of more than 1,500 people jailed for participation in the insurrection as "gratuitously offensive and grotesque”.
“These are people that committed acts of violence, had plotted the overthrow of a free and fair election, and now they walk free,” Jon says.
“Donald Trump is even holding out the possibility that they may be able to assume positions in public life in the future, members of the Proud Boys and the rest of them. It's extraordinary.”
What is Donald Trump’s goal?
It’s not just the release of the January 6 rioters that Trump has busied himself with since his inauguration. He has also signed a huge number of executive orders, targeting refugees, immigrant people, LGBTQ+ people, green initiatives, and even government workers.
Many of his actions have been overturning orders set in place by Joe Biden, including one to lower prices of medicines for US citizens.
Lewis Goodall believes Trump's game-plan is a simple "shock and awe strategy".
"He wants to try and convey this sense of frenetic activity," Lewis adds – noting how all government employees working in diversity and inclusion roles have been put on immediate paid leave.
"But I think all new presidents do that to some extent. I think the difference with Trump is that when you go down the list, what you see again and again – and this is what I think is worrying and disturbing – is the extent to which he is pushing his presidential authority very often beyond the limit."
Lewis says that while these actions secure a short-term win for the new president, with his pardons and executive orders praised by his supporters, they could cause damage to the Republican Party in the long term.
"If nothing else, this is a mark of the extent to which the Republican Party is now the Trump party," Lewis continues.
"He's done this, and there has been barely a murmur of dissent from the Republican Party.
"This was the party that projected itself as the party of law and order."
Former Republican congresswoman, and vocal opponent of Donald Trump, Liz Cheney has said the "dishonour will remain" among many serving under the MAGA president, long after his time in power ends.
What’s The News Agents’ take?
Trump is no stranger to employing misinformation to win support, and votes, but The News Agents see him wiping the slate clean for hundreds of MAGA rioters as a clear case of telling America that "black is white, and white is black".
"They say no insurrection happened that day," says Lewis.
"It was all just a load of people just going into the building and they were politically persecuted.
"I can understand, if you're American, that you might see it as releasing his personal militia here, he's creating a group of people who are loyal to him because they owe their freedom to him. And guess what? Most of them are probably armed to the teeth."
A member of the Oathkeepers – a far-right fascist group – previously testified that a stash of firearms was being stashed in a hotel close to the Capitol, and that the group had organised a "quick reaction force" of extremists to move them into Washington if ordered.
"There was a control system. There was a line of command. They were taking orders," says Jon.
"This was not just some spontaneous uprising of anger and fury about Donald Trump losing the election.
"And these people are now free, and who knows what role they're going to play. They're like dogs ready to be unleashed by Donald Trump at a moment's notice."