Hours into his second term, President Donald Trump signed an executive order to pardon as many as 1,500 people charged with crimes related to the Jan. 6, 2021 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol.
Americans from across the nation face charges related to the 2021 riots, which attempted to overturn to results of the 2020 general election, which saw now former President Joe Biden elected as the 46th president of the United Stares.
Rioters faced charges ranging from trespassing to assaulting law enforcement officers.
More than 600 people are already in prison on charges related to the insurrection, having entered guilty pleas or have been convicted in relation to their participation in Jan, 6, 2021 events at the Capitol.
Court records show that dozens of New Jersey residents have been charged for their roles in the attack on the Capitol.
New Jersey native Brian Sicknick was killed in the attack. He was sprayed with chemicals by rioters while defending the Capitol and suffered two strokes before succumbing to his injuries. Four additional officers died by suicide in the weeks that followed.
As many as 140 police officers assaulted during the insurrection.
Sicknick’s brother Craig said Tuesday he is “saddened and disheartened that Trump’s first actions were exactly what he said they would be.”
“Freeing violent criminals who attacked the Capitol and who were responsible for my brother’s death, issuing edicts to change decades of U.S. immigration policy and giving pharmaceutical manufacturers the unfettered ability to kill through making their products unaffordable to the very people who need them the most,” he said. “Trump, like Hitler, rose to power as a convicted criminal, sees no point in adhering to our Constitution and has no problem harming those who cannot defend themselves. Once again, we have failed to learn the lessons of history and we are repeating them.”
New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy said on social media that Sicknick was a veteran and former staff sergeant with the New Jersey Air National Guard who grew up in South River and that “Trump’s decision to pardon the individual who assaulted him that day — and 1,500 other Jan 6th defendants — is a deep betrayal of justice and dark moment for our country.”
The riots led to a second impeachment of Trump. After the insurrection, Trump was indicted in a criminal federal case that accused him of trying to overturn the election.
Trump had pledged to issue such pardons on day one and has not shied away from his support for the rioters.
During comments made in an overflow viewing room after the inaugural address earlier Monday, Trump referred to the attackers as “January 6 hostages.”
A fundraising event for those who stormed the Capitol was set to be held at Trump’s Bedminster golf club last year.
The J6 Awards Gala, sponsored by the Stand in the Gap Foundation, a nonprofit organization that says its mission is to provide “unwavering support to January 6th defendants and their families during their time of incarceration,” was postponed.
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Two of New Jersey’s three Republican congressional representatives told NJ Spotlight News that they would support pardons, but not necessarily for everyone.
Rep. Jeff Van Drew said he backs pardons for “nonviolent offenders.”
“There were a small handful that should go to jail,” Van Drew said. “But there were a good number of them that should not, and it is time to move on.”
While Rep. Chris Smith said Trump should “pardon many of them.”
Democratic Rep. Nellie Pou was did not see things the same as her Republican colleagues, calling the pardons an “outrage.”
“These individuals are no heroes and no hostages but violent criminals who attacked police officers and tried to overthrow our democracy,” she said. “This is a dark moment for America.”
Katie Sobko covers the New Jersey Statehouse. Email: sobko@northjersey.com
