House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) defended President Trump's sweeping pardons for those who stormed the Capitol on January 6, 2021, including numerous people who violently attacked police officers.
“The president has made the decisions. I'm not going to second-guess them,” Johnson said at a press conference Wednesday.
“This is kind of my ethos, my worldview, we believe in redemption. We believe in second chances,” Johnson added. “You could argue that those people didn't pay that heavy penalty because they went through prison and everything else. That's up to you. But the president has made a decision. We're going to move forward. I There are better days ahead.”
In his first hours in office, President Trump fully and unconditionally gave the majority of those who stormed the Capitol on January 6, 2021 to stop former President Joe Biden's electoral certification. granted amnesty. 2020 election results.
Approximately 15,000 defendants were granted full pardons on January 6, and President Trump commuted the sentences of 14 members of the far-right group Proud Boys and Oath Keepers, which plotted to block the transfer of power.
However, former Proud Boys president Enrique Tarrio, who received the longest prison sentence in connection with the attack, was granted a full pardon. David Dempsey used a flagpole and pepper spray to fight police. Julian Cater, who pepper-sprayed police officers including Brian Sicknick, died the day after the riot.
Johnson did not directly respond to a question about what he was saying about the Republican argument that Trump's pardons were “pro-blue.”
“Everyone can explain this any way they want. The president has the power to pardon and commute sentences. That's his decision,” Johnson said Wednesday.
“What has been clear all along is that peaceful protests and the people who participate in them should never be punished. It was a weaponization of the Department of Justice. You know, on January 6th, The events that followed the prosecution that happened since have been weaponized,” Johnson said. “It was a terrible time and a terrible chapter in American history.”
The day before President Trump's pardon, Prime Minister Johnson had indicated that he did not expect those who committed the violence on January 6 to be pardoned.
“I think what the president has said and what Vice President-elect J.D. Vance has said is that peaceful protesters should be forgiven, but violent criminals should not be forgiven. That's a simple decision.” and johnson He spoke on NBC's “Meet the Press” on Sunday.. “That's up to the president. But there's been a lot of talk about it. But we'll see what happens.”
