By Emmie Meeks
Elm Staff Writer
On Jan. 20, 2025, four years and 14 days after the violent Jan. 6, 2021 insurrection at the Capitol, President Donald Trump issued an executive order granting clemency to every individual convicted of a crime at or near the Capitol building that day.
When the leader of the free world has built a platform on support for law enforcement, even when it means denouncing activist groups such as Black Lives Matter, the notion that President Trump would turn his back on those who swore an oath to protect the American people should be inconceivable.
According to a recent Associated Press article, President Trump called his supporters who attacked the Capitol “patriots” and “hostages,” insisiting they were treated unfairly by the Department of Justice. Thus, it does not come as a surprise that one of his first actions in the first hours of his second term was to pardon and commute the sentences of his loyal followers.
The language introducing the executive order raises additional concerns.
“This proclamation ends a grave national injustice that has been perpetrated upon the American people over the last four years and begins a process of national reconciliation,” President Trump wrote.
The order reads more as a personal attack on former President Joe Biden and his administration than an order to restore justice. President Trump has made it clear that he not only has little regard for the consequences of his actions but is also completely comfortable with abusing his power.
Many police officers who were working at the Capitol on Jan. 6 have spoken out following President Trump’s executive order.
In a recent interview with NPR, Capitol Police Sgt. Aquilino Gonell condemned President Trump’s action, calling it a “betrayal.” He also went into detail about his own experience of being attacked with a PVC pipe.
Gonell, in a statement noticeably different from that of President Trump, calls the pardons “a miserable miscarriage of justice.”
“All this hard work, all these investigations, all the efforts to bring justice and accountability have been erased,” Gonell said.
Gonell is not the only officer to speak out against President Trump’s pardons. Former Capitol Police Officer Harry Dunn has also been vocal about what he describes as “a slap in the face.”
In a recent interview with MSNBC, Dunn did not hold back from criticizing President Trump’s decision to pardon the rioters and dismissal of the importance of violent crimes committed against officers.
“He’ll make a decision and then make an excuse for why he did what he did later. He’s impulsive. He doesn’t think about the ramifications of actions, of what he says,” Dunn said.
Dunn was asked to respond to a statement by Judge Amy Berman Jackson condemning the Jan. 6 pardons.
“Those officers are the real patriots, are the real heroes…those are the people that are patriots, the people that honor their oath to this country, to the Constitution. That are faithful to that and not an individual,” Dunn said, echoing Jackson’s statement.
The testimonies of officers like Gonell and Dunn are stark reminders of the betrayal that seems to be a recurring theme for President Trump.
Even pardoned rioters have spoken out to reject their pardons.
According to Idaho Statesman article, Boise resident Pamela Hemphill, previously nicknamed “the MAGA Granny,” has decided to reject her pardon.
“Accepting the pardon would be an insult to the Capitol Police officers, to the rule of law, to our nation…The Jan. 6 criminals are trying to rewrite history by saying it was not a riot; it wasn’t an insurrection,” Hemphill said.
Hemphill said she does not want to take any part in denying what happened on Jan. 6 and has planned to file a letter of rejection with her attorney.
She is not the only pardoned convict to reject their pardon, but there are very few who have chosen to do so.
Instead of honoring the real patriots of Jan. 6, such as officers Gonell and Dunn, who put their lives on the line to protect the Capitol and the foundational practice of a peaceful transfer of power, President Trump has made his stance abundantly clear: he values individual loyalty over true patriotism.
Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.
Photo Caption: Rioters storm the United States Capitol in denial of the 2020 presidential election.