‘Great thing for humanity’: Trump touts Jan. 6 pardons despite facts
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President Donald Trump described his decision to pardon Jan. 6 rioters as a “great thing for humanity,” even as these same people are being charged with new crimes while others have recently revealed past histories of egregious criminal acts. During an interview on Air Force One on Sunday, Trump was asked how he could reconcile honoring first responders with his pardons for rioters who attacked Capitol Police officers. Reporter: You are going to meet with first responders today, but you pardoned hundreds of people who assaulted first responders. Trump: No, I pardoned people who were assaulted themselves… by our government. What I did was a great thing for humanity.— Acyn (@acyn.bsky.social) 2025-02-10T03:44:02.518Z “No, I pardoned people who were assaulted themselves, they were assaulted by our government,” Trump said. “I didn’t assault. They didn’t assault. They were assaulted. What I did was a great thing for humanity.” This is a lie. Capitol officers were beaten up by the rioters and have documented their injuries at length in the years following the attack—that was instigated by Trump after he lost the 2020 election. After being pardoned by Trump, the criminality has continued for some. Texas resident Andrew Taake was arrested by police on an outstanding charge of soliciting a minor. Police have accused the Trump supporter of sending explicit messages to an undercover officer posing as a teen in 2016. Taake pleaded guilty to a felony count of assaulting, resisting or impeding certain officers using a dangerous weapon on Jan. 6—which runs directly counter to Trump’s false claim. In Indiana, Matthew Huttle was shot and killed by a police officer while purportedly resisting arrest. Police were investigating him for reportedly possessing a firearm. Other Jan. 6 rioters had criminal offenses predating the attack on the Capitol building. Theodore Middendorf, another beneficiary of Trump’s actions, was accused in Illinois of committing sexual assault against a 7-year-old girl and pleaded guilty to the charge. His fellow Jan. 6 rioter, Peter Schwartz had a string of convictions going back to 1994 and was accused of assaulting his wife “including by biting her on the forehead and punching her multiple times.” Another Trump backer who received Trump’s blessing was David Daniel of North Carolina, who has been charged with production and possession of child pornography—the alleged victims were under 12. A magistrate judge said the evidence in the case “suggests Defendant engaged in sexual acts with two young girls in his own family” and it is “alleged he took and kept photos of the genitalia of the victims.” In addition to these criminal cases, Trump’s pardon also freed Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio, who was convicted of seditious conspiracy against the United States. In Tarrio’s case the judge found that Tarrio had committed an act of terrorism by breaching the Capitol. In the days leading up to the pardons, Vice President JD Vance had claimed that the action would only apply to people who had not committed violence. But Trump instead gave over 1,500 people a pass with no restrictions on many who tried to overthrow the government with weaponry and brutality. Even his closest allies have admitted that Trump made the wrong move. “Pardoning the people who went into the Capitol and beat up a police officer violently, I think was a mistake, because it seems to suggest that’s an okay thing to do,” Sen. Lindsey Graham told NBC News in January. YouTube Video Trump and other Republicans have long claimed they represent “law and order,” which Trump’s own history of criminal convictions disproved. But his decision to release violent offenders who are back on the street and committing more crimes further undermines the Republican claim. Campaign Action
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2025/2/10/2302752/-Great-thing-for-humanity-Trump-touts-Jan-6-pardons-despite-facts?pm_campaign=blog&pm_medium=rss&pm_source=main
President Donald Trump described his decision to pardon Jan. 6 rioters as a “great thing for humanity,” even as these same people are being charged with new crimes while others have recently revealed past histories of egregious criminal acts. During an interview on Air Force One on Sunday, Trump was asked how he could reconcile honoring first responders with his pardons for rioters who attacked Capitol Police officers. Reporter: You are going to meet with first responders today, but you pardoned hundreds of people who assaulted first responders. Trump: No, I pardoned people who were assaulted themselves… by our government. What I did was a great thing for humanity.— Acyn (@acyn.bsky.social) 2025-02-10T03:44:02.518Z “No, I pardoned people who were assaulted themselves, they were assaulted by our government,” Trump said. “I didn’t assault. They didn’t assault. They were assaulted. What I did was a great thing for humanity.” This is a lie. Capitol officers were beaten up by the rioters and have documented their injuries at length in the years following the attack—that was instigated by Trump after he lost the 2020 election. After being pardoned by Trump, the criminality has continued for some. Texas resident Andrew Taake was arrested by police on an outstanding charge of soliciting a minor. Police have accused the Trump supporter of sending explicit messages to an undercover officer posing as a teen in 2016. Taake pleaded guilty to a felony count of assaulting, resisting or impeding certain officers using a dangerous weapon on Jan. 6—which runs directly counter to Trump’s false claim. In Indiana, Matthew Huttle was shot and killed by a police officer while purportedly resisting arrest. Police were investigating him for reportedly possessing a firearm. Other Jan. 6 rioters had criminal offenses predating the attack on the Capitol building. Theodore Middendorf, another beneficiary of Trump’s actions, was accused in Illinois of committing sexual assault against a 7-year-old girl and pleaded guilty to the charge. His fellow Jan. 6 rioter, Peter Schwartz had a string of convictions going back to 1994 and was accused of assaulting his wife “including by biting her on the forehead and punching her multiple times.” Another Trump backer who received Trump’s blessing was David Daniel of North Carolina, who has been charged with production and possession of child pornography—the alleged victims were under 12. A magistrate judge said the evidence in the case “suggests Defendant engaged in sexual acts with two young girls in his own family” and it is “alleged he took and kept photos of the genitalia of the victims.” In addition to these criminal cases, Trump’s pardon also freed Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio, who was convicted of seditious conspiracy against the United States. In Tarrio’s case the judge found that Tarrio had committed an act of terrorism by breaching the Capitol. In the days leading up to the pardons, Vice President JD Vance had claimed that the action would only apply to people who had not committed violence. But Trump instead gave over 1,500 people a pass with no restrictions on many who tried to overthrow the government with weaponry and brutality. Even his closest allies have admitted that Trump made the wrong move. “Pardoning the people who went into the Capitol and beat up a police officer violently, I think was a mistake, because it seems to suggest that’s an okay thing to do,” Sen. Lindsey Graham told NBC News in January. YouTube Video Trump and other Republicans have long claimed they represent “law and order,” which Trump’s own history of criminal convictions disproved. But his decision to release violent offenders who are back on the street and committing more crimes further undermines the Republican claim. Campaign Action
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2025/2/10/2302752/-Great-thing-for-humanity-Trump-touts-Jan-6-pardons-despite-facts?pm_campaign=blog&pm_medium=rss&pm_source=main