Leaders of the far-right groups the Proud Boys and the Oath Keepers were freed from prison Tuesday after President Trump granted “full, complete and unconditional” presidential pardons to over 1,500 people involved in the January 6 insurrection. Among those released was Enrique Tarrio, the former leader of the Proud Boys, who had been serving a 22-year federal prison sentence after he was convicted of seditious conspiracy. Also released Tuesday was former Oath Keepers leader Stewart Rhodes, who spoke to reporters after his 18-year prison sentence was commuted by Trump.
Stewart Rhodes: “I feel — I feel — I feel — yes, I feel vindicated and validated. Yes, absolutely. Of course, I haven’t gotten a pardon yet; I got commutation. But I’m applying for one. I’m pretty positive I’ll get one. When they review my case, they’ll understand that I was targeted for who I am, not for anything I did.”
Capitol rioter Jacob Chansley, whose horned fur hat, face paint and six-foot spear made him one of the more recognizable insurrectionists on January 6, wrote on the social media site X, ”THANK YOU PRESIDENT TRUMP!!! NOW I AM GONNA BUY SOME MOTHA FU*KIN GUNS!!!” Chansley was among a group that broke into the Senate chamber and left a threatening note to then-Vice President Mike Pence reading, “It’s Only A Matter of Time. Justice Is Coming!”
Most Republican leaders have remained quiet on Trump’s pardons. Asked whether he supported or opposed the pardons, Senate Majority Leader John Thune said, “We’re not looking backwards, we’re looking forward.” Capitol Police officers, many of whom were wounded by the mob Trump incited on January 6, blasted Trump’s pardons and commutations. Former Sergeant Aquilino Gonell called it a “miscarriage of justice, a betrayal, a mockery, and a desecration of the men and women that risked their lives defending our democracy.”
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