President of the United States Donald Trump on his first day in office on Monday, pardoned those who took part in the takeover of the congress building in Epiphany 2021.
It was to be expected, but the surprise was that he released even those who had received the harshest sentences.
Among them are those who have been sentenced to more than twenty years. The convictions had come for leading and organizing the rebellion and the entire riot.
– It shows that Trump still doesn’t see that he did anything wrong when he tried to overturn the 2020 election result. He was ready to release even those guilty of the most serious violent crimes, violence against the authorities, researcher Maria Lindén About the Institute for Foreign Policy, evaluate.
– He feels some kind of soulmate with these people who rushed to the Capitol for him.
Trump released all those guilty of usurping Congress
Some of Trump’s own aides had also hoped for a more selective pardon.
Trump completely pardoned a large part of those convicted or accused. He commuted the sentences of many of those who had received the heaviest sentences so that their prison terms ended on the day of the inauguration, and they were released from prison.
In practice, Trump acquitted all nearly 1,600 people accused or convicted of the takeover of Congress from charges or from prison. Among the crowd were people who had attacked the police with baseball bats, pitchforks and various sprays.
Trump released many leaders of the Proud Boys extremist organization convicted of subversive rebellion.
The one who received the harshest sentence led the takeover remotely
The former leader of Proud Boys received the hardest sentence, 22 years in prison Enrique Tarrio.
A few hundred members of the Proud Boys played a key role in the violent invasion of Congress in Epiphany 2021.
According to the court, their leaders were key factors in leading the rebellion, although not all of them were the most violent that day.
Tarrio wasn’t even there in Washington. According to the court, he managed the events closely, for example by giving orders via text messages.
The amnesty celebration overturned years of work by the authorities
The release does not seem to have come as a surprise to the convicts. of The New York Times according to many had booked a ride in advance to wait in front of the prison. Some of those who were paroled were waiting for Trump’s decision in some kind of “parole party”.
Tarrio was released from jail Monday night in Louisiana and was expected to return home to Miami today, Tuesday. His family has already been preparing celebrations in honor of his release since last week.
Lindén finds it shocking that years of extensive investigation and work by the federal police, the FBI and the judicial authorities were canceled in a mass amnesty all at once.
– This was apparently almost the largest single operation in the history of the US judiciary. Thousands of defendants, I’ll throw the investigations, indictments, trials first.
– We felt that this was a really dramatic event in American history, and it was important to hold these factors accountable. It was swept away with one signature, as if it had never existed, Lindén reflects.
Leaders of extreme organizations were serving years in prison – until yesterday
Trump also pardoned of Joseph Biggs and by David Dempsey. They were not only the leaders of the Proud Boys, but also violently involved in the forefront of the occupation. Dempsey was sentenced to 20 years and Biggs to 17 years.
Also one of the leaders of the Proud Boys Zack Rehl received a 15-year sentence. At the trial, prosecutors showed a video of Rehl spraying police with chemical spray during the attack.
Mightily Iida Tikka interviewed Rehl in 2024.
The leader of another extremist organization, the Oath Keepers Stewart Rhodes was sentenced to 18 years in prison for leading a subversive rebellion. He led the activities of his violent group in the events of Epiphany 2021, and according to the court, his group was also preparing for wider violence.
Trump also released Rehl and Rhodes yesterday.
From anti-federalists to Trump warriors
– These are the radical right, organizations that include preparing for a possible social collapse. Typically, they have been anti-government or anti-federal movements, Ph.D Niko Heikkinen Photo from the John Morton Center of the University of Turku.
Organizations that hate the federal government and spread conspiracy theories became Trump’s supporters in this first term.
– Proud Boys have had some history of street violence and skirmishes during the Black Lives Matter protests, Heikkinen says.
The members of the organization fought against the protesters.
According to Heikkinen, during the legal proceedings, the activity of organizations opposed to the federal government decreased, but now it may turn to increase again.
Amnesty can increase violence
According to Lindén of the Foreign Policy Institute, the amnesty weakens the rule of law in the United States.
– In addition to the fact that the law is not the same for someone influential, rich and powerful, it is also not the same for ordinary people. Even among ordinary people, there are caste differences depending on who happens to politically please the ruler enough.
The risk of political violence is also increasing, Lindén estimates.
– Now the leaders of violent organizations have been released. They have been elevated to the status of heroes, given tremendous fame and glory. It certainly empowers them to believe that they can do things without sanctions, says Lindén.
These militant organizations may seek to participate, for example, in border security and deportation activities announced by Trump.
– It can be organizing into street patrols at the border using their own rights. Or clashes in connection with demonstrations by pro-immigration organizations, thinks Heikkinen.