The biggest attack suffered by the American democracy Since the British army set fire to the Capitol in 1812, it will remain whitewashed and unpunished for posterity. In one of his first decisions since being sworn in as president of the United States for the second time, Donald Trump ha pardoned or commuted sentences to the more than 1,500 convicts to date by storm the headquarters of Congress on January 6, 2021. Both those who injured a hundred police officers armed with sticks, spray guns or guns and those sentenced to even longer prison terms for “conspire to sedition”or what is the same, organize to try to overthrow the government by force. After referring to them as “patriots” y “hostages”, The Republican affirmed that his gesture of clemency will put an end to “the grave national injustice perpetrated on the American people over the past four years.” The time the Justice Department spent trying to hold accountable all those who stormed the Capitol in Trump’s name.
In this way it could be said that the new president is also implicitly exonerating himself. Not surprisingly, that assault came after Trump incited his followers to march against the Capitol to prevent their honors from certifying the Joe Biden’s election victory in the 2020 elections, which he still says today were a “fraud.” Had he not won this time, it is possible that Trump would have been convicted for preventing the peaceful transfer of power then. This is what the special prosecutor said before resigning a few weeks ago. Jack Smith, in charge of investigating his interference in the electoral result. Smith even charged Trump, and in his final report concluded that there was enough evidence to have convicted him. A possibility definitively buried by his victory in November, since the Constitution prohibits the incrimination of a sitting president. The mogul was convicted of 32 charges for falsifying documents to try to silence porn actress Stormy Daniels, with whom he allegedly had a romantic relationship.
Proud Boys leader released
This time the Republican has granted the “full and unconditional forgiveness” to all those convicted of the assault, which includes more than 300 people imprisoned for the crimes committed that day. Another 14 have had their sentences commuted, a group that includes the leaders of the Proud Boys and the Oath Keepersthe two most active far-right groups that June 6. So much Enrique Tarriothe leader of the first, sentenced to 22 years, as Stewart Rhodes, The leader of the latter, who was also serving an 18-year sentence for seditious conspiracy, was released from prison this Tuesday.
This is what Trump wanted when he signed his statement the day before and ordered his attorney general to ensure that “all prisoners are released immediately.” He has also already been released from prison. Jacob Chansley, the man who became the bizarre face of the insurrection by walking through the Capitol bare-chested, with a bison horn hat and a spear with the US flag. Chansley had been sentenced to 41 months in prison for obstructing official procedures to ratify Biden’s victory.
Backing for the extreme right
In the environment of Trumpism, many believe that the outgoing Administration had gone too far in its pursuit of those responsible for the assault. A perception that is not shared by the majority of Americans, according to several surveys. What is clear is that the new president’s decision will be a a boost for the extreme right and the radical movements that support the republican. “By pardoning and commuting the sentences of those who participated in the January 6 insurrection, Trump has legitimized the insurrection and at the same time he has pointed out that those who resort to violence to defend your cause“, the director of the Center for the American Presidency at Vanderbilt University, Nicole Hemmer, told ‘The Washington Post’. And, in between, he added he has also highlighted “the authoritarian tendencies of the new Administration.”
