Some of those who were freed from jail earlier this week had assaulted police officers during the insurrection.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
0:55
January 6 rioters reunite with families
Republican senator Mr Graham said while Mr Trump had the legal authority to issue the pardons, “pardoning the people who went into the Capitol and beat up a police officer violently, I think was a mistake. Because it seems to suggest that’s an okay thing to do”.
As a result, “I fear that you will get more violence”, said Mr Graham, who serves on the Senate Judiciary Committee.
Mr Trump has said that attacks on police officers during the January 6 unrest were “minor incidents”.
In his first sit-down interview since being inaugurated on Monday, recorded in the Oval Office, Mr Trump told Fox News’ Sean Hannity most of those who were jailed over the US Capitol riots were “absolutely innocent”.
He went on to claim those at the US Capitol were simply there “protesting the vote” before again falsely claiming the 2020 election was “rigged”.
Image: Senator Lindsey Graham speaks during a Donald Trump campaign rally in Charlotte, North Carolina, in 2020. Pic: Reuters
Among those supporters who have been released from prison was Stewart Rhodes, the former leader of the far-right Oath Keepers group.
Rhodes had been serving an 18-year sentence after being convicted of plotting to use force to prevent Congress from certifying Mr Trump’s 2020 defeat to rival Joe Biden.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
2:05
Trump addresses Capitol riot pardons
The blanket pardon also drew condemnation from police who battled the mob, their families, and politicians, including some of the president’s fellow Republicans.
Graham also hits out at Biden pardons
Speaking on NBC’s Meet the Press programme, Mr Graham also criticised Mr Trump’s predecessor Democrat Mr Biden for issuing last-minute pardons for five family members and said Americans may want to revisit presidential pardon power if such actions continue.
“But as to pardoning violent people who beat up cops, I think that’s a mistake,” he said.
Spreaker
This content is provided by Spreaker, which may be using cookies and other technologies.
To show you this content, we need your permission to use cookies.
You can use the buttons below to amend your preferences to enable Spreaker cookies or to allow those cookies just once.
You can change your settings at any time via the Privacy Options.
Unfortunately we have been unable to verify if you have consented to Spreaker cookies.
To view this content you can use the button below to allow Spreaker cookies for this session only.
Later in the TV show, Democratic senator Adam Schiff agreed with Mr Graham, saying Mr Biden “was wrong to give these pardons”.
He added: “What it says now to the Trump family and to President Trump’s kids: they can engage in any kind of malfeasance, criminality, graft, whatever, and they can expect a pardon on the way out the door. That is not a message you want to send to this family, or really any family occupying the White House.”
Trump criticised by brother of dead officer
Craig Sicknick, whose brother was assaulted during the riot and died of multiple strokes the next day, has called Mr Trump “pure evil”.
“The man who killed my brother is now president,” he said.
Nearly 60% of respondents in a Reuters/Ipsos poll, which was carried out after Mr Trump took office on Monday, said he should not pardon all of the Capitol defendants.
British director Joe Wright has said fascism is a "global problem" and there is a sense of the ideology "within us all".Wright, who is best known for films including Darkest Hour and Atonement, described fascism as the "politicisation of toxic masculinity" which he said "exists everywhere". Speaking to Sky News' Barbara Serra ahead of the launch of his new eight-part series, Mussolini: Son Of The Century - which documents the […]
Post comments (0)