Trump Puts Violent Criminals Back on the Streets

/71 Comments/in /by

Somehow, the headlines describing that Trump pardoned most of those convicted or charged for January 6 forgot to mention hundreds of them were convicted of violent assaults on cops.

The grant of clemency is actually somewhat interesting. Contrary to reports, almost everyone got pardoned. The exceptions — those whose sentences were commuted, rather than pardoned, are many of the top Oath Keepers and Proud Boys.

  • Stewart Rhodes
  • Kelly Meggs
  • Kenneth Harrelson
  • Thomas Caldwell
  • Jessica Watkins
  • Roberto Minuta
  • Edward Vallejo
  • David Moerschel
  • Joseph Hackett
  • Ethan Nordean
  • Joseph Biggs
  • Zachary Rehl
  • Dominic Pezzola
  • Jeremy Bertino

But the list is inconsistent. For example, Jeremy Bertino cooperated against the others (but has not yet been sentenced). He got a pardon with everyone else. But others (like Joshua James, who pled guilty to sedition) who cooperated are not on this list, and as a result will get a full pardon.

If this were reported correctly, it would exacerbate the anger a good number of Trump allies must feel right now: A number of Republicans, including even Mike Johnson, spoke out against pardoning the violent cop assailants. Trump ignored them all.

Ah well, I know it was a busy day, but you’d think you could get the headline right. Most of the people freed are not pre-trial defendants. They’re convicted criminals, hundreds for assaults on cops, many who pled guilty, just let out the door as one of Trump’s first acts as President.

Update: Trump put Ed Martin, someone involved in Stop the Steal, in charge of the DC US Attorney’s Office.

Update: In an Executive Order prioritizing the death penalty, Trump called for the death penalty for those who succeed in murdering cops.

(b) In addition to pursuing the death penalty where possible, the Attorney General shall, where consistent with applicable law, pursue Federal jurisdiction and seek the death penalty regardless of other factors for every federal capital crime involving:

(i) The murder of a law-enforcement officer; or

Yesterday, Danny Rodriguez was freed for nearly murdering Michael Fanone.

Trump also ordered DOJ to prioritize violent crime, like those committed by hundreds of the people he freed yesterday.

Sec. 6. Prosecuting Crime to Protect Communities. (a) The Attorney General shall appropriately prioritize public safety and the prosecution of violent crime, and take all appropriate action necessary to dismantle transnational criminal activity in the United States. [my empahsis]

Meanwhile, DOJ is issuing orders to halt the prosecution of people accused of violent crime.

I further direct the Attorney General to pursue dismissal with prejudice to the government of all pending indictments against individuals for their conduct related to the events at or near the United States Capitol on January 6, 2021.  The Bureau of Prisons shall immediately implement all instructions from the Department of Justice regarding this directive. [my emphasis]

Update: Via Harry Dunn, here’s all the automated notices that Aquilino Gonell has gotten telling him that people he testified against — all of whom assaulted him — have been released.

Update: Elevating Critter7’s link to the most recent update from DC USAO on the investigation. It says 174 people were charged with using a deadly weapon or causing serious bodily harm to a cop.

  • Approximately 608 charged with assaulting, resisting, or impeding law enforcement agents or officers or obstructing those officers during a civil disorder, including approximately 174 defendants charged with using a deadly or dangerous weapon or causing serious bodily injury to an officer;

[snip]

Of those who pled guilty to felonies, 172 pleaded guilty to assaulting law enforcement; 130 pleaded guilty to obstructing law enforcement during a civil disorder (riot); 69 pleaded guilty to assaulting law enforcement with a dangerous or deadly weapon; and 4 pleaded guilty to seditious conspiracy– conspiring to use force against the United States. Some of these defendants pled guilty to one or multiple felony charges related to their conduct.

71 replies
  1. Spank Flaps says:

    Now we’re into post truth, “conservative” misconduct is heavily watered down. Even BBC is describing them as “defendants”.
    Another example of sanewashing is France24 described Musk’s Nazi salute as a “strange gesture”.

      • SteveBev says:

        “Roman Salute” is what Mussolini Fascisti called their gesture.

        Wiki has an excellent article on this https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_salute
        Which explains there are no Roman sources to authenticate the salute in Ancient Rome. The myth of the Roman salute appears to have been manufactured in 18th 19th Centuries, especially via paintings

        “ Originating from Jacques-Louis David’s painting The Oath of the Horatii (1784), the gesture quickly developed a historically inaccurate association with Roman republican and imperial culture. The gesture and its identification with Roman culture were further developed in other neoclassic artworks.”
        “ The gesture was further elaborated upon in popular culture during the late 19th and early 20th centuries in plays and films that portrayed the salute as an ancient Roman custom. These included the 1914 Italian film Cabiria whose intertitles were written by the nationalist poet Gabriele d’Annunzio. In 1919, d’Annunzio adopted the cinematographically depicted salute as a neo-imperial ritual when he led an occupation of Fiume.”
        “ Through d’Annunzio’s influence, the gesture soon became part of the rising Italian Fascist movement’s symbolic repertoire. In 1923, the salute was gradually adopted by the Italian Fascist regime.”

    • RMD De Plume says:

      The NYTimes has an article discussing, (paywall) that was reprinted in The Boston Globe
      “Elon Musk ignites online speculation over meaning of hand gesture” …

      On CNN, commentators pointed out Musk’s gesture. Erin Burnett, an anchor, noted how striking the action was. The motion soon drew comparisons online to the salute popularized by Adolf Hitler, and others interpreted it as a Roman salute, which is also known as the “fascist salute” and was later adopted by the Nazis. The Nazi variation of the gesture is illegal in some European countries, including Germany.

    • CVilleDem says:

      The words that best describes those who were pardoned, had sentences commuted, and let out of jail are:

      Donald Trump’s J6 accomplices.

      I have to wonder if any of the 6 bought-off justices have even a tinge of regret about what they have done. Probably not.

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  2. dopefish says:

    These commutations, will get the Jan6 ringleaders out of jail, but won’t restore their civil rights (ability to own firearms, etc.) I predict that the Trump regime will watch and see if they make themselves useful, and may yet reward them with full pardons at a later date.

    Even though I expected this, I was still surprised by the brazenness of these pardons. Forget Pax Americana—I no longer even think the United States of America will survive the next four years.

      • Twaspawarednot says:

        The Hill reported. “I JUST GOT THE NEWS FROM MY LAWYER…I GOT A PARDON BABY! THANK YOU PRESIDENT TRUMP!!!” Chansley, who was photographed inside the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, with a horned helmet, painted face and bare chest, wrote on X. “NOW I AM GONNA BUY SOME MOTHA FU*KIN GUNS!!! I LOVE THIS COUNTRY!!! GOD BLESS AMERICA!!!!”

  3. Zinsky123 says:

    I hope someone is tracking the criminal recidivism and violence these losers perpetrate when they get out, for future Nuremberg-like trials. The irresponsibility of Trump’s actions are beyond the pale. No responsible attorney would sign off on this nonsense. I continue to believe that lawlessness cannot last forever and these maladjusted scofflaws, including Trump, will be held to account at long last.

  4. RitaRita says:

    A Tale of Two Newspapers – Washington Post writes about Trump releasing Jan 6th defendants. The NY Times correctly notes that they were all convicted and writes an editorial about how unwise this is and how this serves Trump’s purpose of trying to rewrite history.

    I feel sorry for those who testified against them and for the country.

    • cruxdaemon says:

      Even saying this is rewriting history misunderstands the project. He’s telling folks who have been violent on his behalf that it’s lawful. He’s signaling those who haven’t been violent for him in the past, but might be in the future, that they will be protected. He wants brown shirts.

      I’ll say again that this country hanged abolitionist John Brown and built statues for slaver Robert E. Lee. Trump is very much of that tradition.

      [Welcome back to emptywheel. Please use the SAME USERNAME and email address each time you comment so that community members get to know you. You attempted to publish this comment as “damonchild” triggering auto-moderation; it has been edited to reflect your established username. Please check your browser’s cache and autofill; future comments may not publish if username does not match. /~Rayne]

  5. bgThenNow says:

    Who will protect the family of Rhodes? Will others of this group be persecuted for their testimonies? Stand by. What a day.

  6. jmac10878 says:

    I hope someone in the media will track all those released and let us know if they commit crimes… and then lay those crimes at the feet of Trump. But likely I am just dreaming.

    • thesmokies says:

      As I’ve suggested before, some group should create a website which tracks the Trump administration’s major actions and consequences in a very simple format. The consequences of releasing these criminals may take a while to emerge, but they should be tracked.

  7. Eichhörnchen says:

    This today from Heather Cox Richardson:
    “His pardon also included Daniel Rodriguez, who was sentenced to 12 and a half years in prison after pleading guilty to tasing Metropolitan Police Officer Michael Fanone, who suffered cardiac arrest and a traumatic brain injury. ‘Omg I did so much f—ing s— r[ight] n[ow] and got away,’ he texted to his gang. ‘Tazzed the f— out of the blue[.]’”

  8. wa_rickf says:

    This one EO is just one of many EOs that Trump signed yesterday that shows who he is: an incredibly insane sociopath. A vindictive small d-energy old man with the emotional maturity of a middle school kid.

    It’s going to be a LONG four years of Trump’s insanity and abuse he’ll heap onto good Americans trying to do the right thing and live their lives who just want to be left alone.

  9. Stephen Calhoun says:

    Not shocked, yet also unable to expertly appreciate the local and historical reverberations. However, what of all the judges and attorneys, FBI agents, the aforementioned witnesses, who work in the system of justice? What is in store for them?

    Today, ‘the day after,’ the justice system and the military are to undergo what kinds of reconfigurations?

  10. drhester says:

    Trump is a mafia boss. Always has been and always will be. I wonder was CJ Roberts is thinking now. Probably he is still wearing that sh*t eating grin on his face.

    • wa_rickf says:

      I have to disagree, friend. Trump is no mafia boss. Mafia bosses don’t bankrupt casinos. Trump is an incredibly stupid, stupid man who thinks his feces doesn’t stink.

      In everything Trump does, Trump over compensates for his many shortcomings in his life.

    • Ed Walker says:

      @drhester
      i am shocked, shocked I tell you, that you would insult the Great And Powerful SCOTUS Master Roberts, a man of greatness and wonderfulness who should never be disrespected. He said so.

    • Dark Phoenix says:

      Wonder if the Medicare recipients who voted for him will notice their medication prices going back up to price-gouge levels again? What’s he going to do, insist he “signed an order about it”?

  12. Peterr says:

    Oh, the questions the media ask . . .

    From the Guardian:

    Now for something lighter… If you found yourself a bit impatient at times during Trump’s 2,885-word inauguration speech last night – twice longer than the one he delivered in 2017 – you were not alone.

    In an absolute classic of the genre, an interpreter working for the German TV channel phoenix seemingly forgot to switch his microphone off as he turned to the producer and asked, “how long do you want to stay on this shit?”.

    Video of this exchange at the link.

    • earlofhuntingdon says:

      As you know, the Germans, like the Dutch, are very direct and actually demand answers to their questions. Amb. Pete Hoekstra learned that the hard way.

  13. Upisdown says:

    I remember the outrage when Kamala Harris texted the name of a Minnesota non-profit that helps people without funds make bail while awaiting trial. That was during the George Floyd protests when cops were arresting marchers who wouldn’t disperse timely enough. I still see angry mentions of her text. That was just bail help. The justice system was still followed and due process stayed in place. Trump has made a mockery of the system.

    • Dark Phoenix says:

      Just saw one of them insisting that it was all a “lobster trap” set up by the “Deep State” and he didn’t do anything… He was one of the rioters caught beating the crap out of police, but I guess he considers that “nothing”… As Trump does.

  15. Memory hole says:

    Great post pointing out the hypocrisy and incoherence of the President. His thought process seems confused. He says he backs the blue. Then he lends support to violent seditionists who savagely beat police officers. Then he pardons and commutes the sentences of the same. Then he pushes for the death penalty for those who murder law enforcement officers.
    Then he wants to prioritize the prosecution of violent crime. Then he directs the Attorney General to dismiss pending indictments of members of the violent mob who injured over 100 law enforcement officers.
    And even though all this was known to be what would happen, roughly half of the voters decided to support him. Just bizarre.

    • Twaspawarednot says:

      He has no need for consistency. It doesn’t matter to his supporters. They won’t recognize the inconsistencies because any contradictions will be stored in different memory files.

    • gmokegmoke says:

      Donald Trump
      77,303,573 votes (49.9%)
      Kamala Harris
      75,019,257 votes (48.4%)
      About 64% of the voting-eligible population
      in the USAmerica voted in the 2024 election
      which means
      about 89,278,948 didn’t vote,
      a far larger number than either candidate got

      Trmp’s “landslide” is less than 50% of those who voted, less than a third of eligible voters. Don’t let him, and yourself, forget it.

      My current favorite example of Trmp’s “inconsistency” is the TikTok play: Trmp starts the ball rolling against TikTok and, when the Dems and Congress do something about it, Trmp turns around (pocketing the change) to support TikTok. From my cynical perspective, it smells like a confidence game with a damned if you do, damned if you don’t bonus for the Repubs against the Dems. Where is WC Fields when you need him?

    • Dark Phoenix says:

      His “weaving” on all this does make sense if you remember the cardinal rule of Conservativism:

      “Conservatism consists of exactly one proposition, to wit: There must be in-groups whom the law protects but does not bind, alongside out-groups whom the law binds but does not protect.”

  17. Marc in Denver says:

    I’m sure someone in the crew wishes that the press release could have said that he pardoned 1488 folks…

  18. MsJennyMD says:

    A criminal releasing criminals. Rewarding abusive and violent behavior. Teaching our children Abuse 101.

    • digimark says:

      Already done — 1995’s Die Hard with a Vengeance”. Unlike Hollywood we won’t have a lone ranger defeating the bad guys and making witty quips.

  20. Bears7485 says:

    Additionally, more sane washing from Disney last night, giving him propaganda time during half-time of the national championship game. I wonder what happened to “kEeP pOlItiCs oUt oF spORtS!!!”?

    I discovered it IS possible for me to think less of the mouse!

  21. Critter7 says:

    Some news stories about the pardons cite approximate numbers of offenders in various categories (violent, carried weapons, etc.). The source of those stories appears to be a posting by the US Attorney’s Office, District of Columbia, dated 6 Jan 2025, which contains detailed numbers, e.g. “approximately 174 defendants charged with using a deadly or dangerous weapon or causing serious bodily injury to an officer …”. https://www.justice.gov/usao-dc/48-months-jan-6-attack-us-capitol

    That posting also appears to be the inspiration for the news stories’ use of the word “defendants” to describe the convicted criminals, since that is how it describes them.

    The final line of that posting links to a pdf document that contains even more numbers and details, “Status of Prosecutions Related to the Siege of the Capitol on January 6, 2021”.

    Those with interest in all of this may wish to download; Trump’s DOJ just might start erasing info about the nature of the pardonees’ crimes shortly – as Team Trump ramps up efforts to rewrite history.

    • AndTheSlithyToves says:

      What!?!*?? That’s the first time I’ve seen that video! He actually sounds reasonable, condemning the violence and all.
      Is this AI?

  23. chocolateislove says:

    I could only get through 2 pages of the list of EOs that Trump signed yesterday that PeteT0323 linked to. I wanted to see what shit we are going to have to deal with but I just got too sad, infuriated and sick to skim through all of it.

    I have a feeling that Mike Johnson will find that trading the J6 pardons of cop killers/attackers for the EOs on gender and DEI perfectly reasonable. I highly doubt Mike’s going to be at all perturbed by the pardons. We all know that no one in the current iteration of the Grand Old Party has any integrity. I’m really hoping someone asks Josh Hawley about Trump “saving” TikTok. Assuming Josh doesn’t just ignore the question, I really want to see what kind of pretzel logic/gaslighting Josh will resort to.

      • Dark Phoenix says:

        Never forget; the concept of immigration was created because it occurred to somebody in the late 19th century that their current system would allow the Chinese workers who crossed over to build the Transcontinental Railroad to become citizens by the time they were done, and the majority white population really didn’t want that (which is why the US’ first true immigration law was literally called the “Chinese Exclusion Act”). So the entire concept of immigration is rooted in racism, and the US’ version has always been designed to limit “lesser” races from entering (the quota system was created after the SCOTUS said that banning specific races was unconstitutional; by amazing coincidence, quotas were high for Scandinavia and Great Britain and low everywhere else).

        • Rayne says:

          The Chinese Exclusion Acts (plural) had and have real consequences. My own great-grandfather could never have immigrated further than Hawaii because of the 1882 Act, or continued to the US mainland after 1892. My father was born in a US territory with a birth certificate issued in Honolulu, and we all know how the fascists see those kinds of birth certificates.

          (Annoyingly, nobody thought to archive that State Department history page — it’s been vulnerable to erasure all this time, at least until I just requested archiving.)

        • P J Evans says:

          They also didn’t like those “not-white-people” from southern and eastern Europe. A lot of them were either Catholic or Jewish…

  26. dadidoc1 says:

    I wonder what will be the fate of the Oath Keepers and Proud Boys who cooperated with the Department of Justice and are now in the witness protection program administered by the United States Marshall Service.

  27. OldTulsaDude says:

    It’s over, call it a day.
    Sorry that it had to end this way.
    No reason to pretend.
    We knew it had to end
    someday, some way …

    • Dark Phoenix says:

      Yes, it’s over, the kids are gone
      What’s the use of tryin’ to hang on?
      Somewhere we lost the key
      So little left for you and me and it’s clear to see
      Too Much, Too Little, Too Late to lie again with you
      Too Much, Too Little, Too Late to try again with you
      We’re in the middle of ending something that we knew
      It’s over

  30. dopefish says:

    LOL. Fox is reporting that Trump also pardoned Ross Ulbricht, the founder of the illegal dark web marketplace “Silk Road” which was taken apart by the FBI back in 2013. Ulbricht was convicted in 2015 and had been serving two life sentences without possibility of parole.

    Donald Trump sure knows how to make America great again! Or at least how to flood the zone with shit.

  31. Fly by Night says:

    Trump became a lame duck President the second he finished reciting the oath. That fact is important because he does not need to care what the public thinks of him; he doesn’t need their vote. Add to that the near iron-clad immunity granted him by the Supremes and he has carte blanche to do virtually anything he feels like. The only recourse is impeachment followed by conviction in the Senate and we all know how that will go.

    He has been in office one day. 1460 to go.

  32. cmarlowe says:

    I wonder if civil actions by individual Capitol cops against specific J6 participants are possible, including Tarrio and Rhodes. Civil action certainly made Alex Jones miserable.

  33. dadidoc1 says:

    I’m not a lawyer, but once a pardon has been granted, doesn’t the grantee lose fifth amendment protections?

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