Trump issues January 6 pardons

On Monday, President Donald Trump issued roughly 1,500 pardons and commuted the sentences of 14 of his supporters in connection with the attack on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, when thousands of people stormed the building amid his false claims that the 2020 presidential election was rigged against him.

Paul Charlton, a Partner at Denton’s Law Firm and former U.S. Attorney, joined “Arizona Horizon” to help understand these pardons and commutations.

President Trump commuted the sentences of individuals associated with the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers, who were convicted of seditious conspiracy. He then issued “a full, complete and unconditional pardon to all other individuals convicted of offenses related to events that occurred at or near the United States Capitol on January 6, 2021,” a category that included people who assaulted law enforcement officers.

A pardon is when an individual is excused from their illegal actions, their charges are dropped and they will no longer be sentenced. A commutation is a “reduction in your sentence,” Charlton explained, therefore the individual will still carry their conviction and inhibitions from their committed crime.

“What makes these pardons so much different, so much more stark, in the reality of most Americans is that we witnessed these assaults,” Charlton said.

The witnesses of assaults and violations of federal property makes these pardons much more controversial. Members of the senate and Americans who have contributed to polls are against the idea of pardoning these assaults done on police officers, according to Charlton.

“The vice president didn’t see it that way, the vice president, Mr. Vance, thought that we ought not to be pardoning individuals who were involved in assaults on police officers,” Charlton said.

Although there are controversy on this decision, this is not the first time pardons have been a part of American history. Charlton mentioned pardons from former president George Washington, Jimmy Carter and Joe Biden.