Ex-DOJ prosecutor: How Trump could make Jan. 6 defendants 'emboldened and even more radicalized'

18 December 2024

Since defeating Vice President Kamala Harris in the United States' 2024 presidential election, Donald Trump has doubled down on many of his campaign promises — including a promise to pardon the rioters and insurrectionists who have faced criminal charges for their roles in the January 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol Building.

The president-elect hasn't backed down from that promise a bit, continuing to describe them as "hostages" and "patriots."

During a November 25 interview at Mar-a-Lago, Trump told Time Magazine, "I'll be looking at J6 early on, maybe the first nine minutes. We're going to look at each individual case, and we're going to do it very quickly. And it's going to start in the first hour that I get into office. And a vast majority of them should not be in jail."

In an article published by the conservative website The Bulwark on December 18, University of Baltimore law professor and former federal Kimberly Wehle lays out some reasons why such a pardon would be dangerous from a national security standpoint.

"As of August 6, 2024, the Justice Department reported that there had been 894 individuals who pleaded guilty to a variety of charges," Wehle explains. "Another 223 have been convicted in trials. Some 562 have been sentenced to prison. Among the defendants are individuals caught on tape brandishing stun guns, flagpoles, fire extinguishers, bike racks, batons, a metal whip, office furniture, bear spray, a tomahawk ax, a hockey stick, knuckle gloves, a baseball bat, a pitchfork, pieces of lumber, crutches, and even an explosive device during the attack in which approximately 140 police officers were assaulted."

Wehle adds that "pardons of violent offenders whose profiles suggest they might go on to commit violent crimes deserve special opprobrium."

"Many of the January 6th insurrectionists fall into this category, which is a prime reason why Trump should not pardon them," the legal expert warns. "Releasing them will make the public less safe."

According to Wehle, those who held extreme political views on January 6, 2021 are likely to still hold them almost four years later.

"For those convicted of January 6th crimes — whom Trump has called 'hostages' and 'patriots' for having been prosecuted over what was 'a day of love' — a pardon could transform their lives, restoring freedom and a host of benefits," Wehle argues. "Meanwhile, taxpayers will, in some cases, go from paying for these individuals’ prison time to paying for their pensions. And one shudders to think what some of these Trump loyalists — dangerous on January 6th and now perhaps emboldened and more radicalized — might get up to when they’re no longer behind bars."

Kimberly Wehle's full article for The Bulwark is available at this link.

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