Do you think President Trump should have pardoned the Jan. 6 rioters?
- Yes
- No
- I don't know
While the riots caused consternation and fear throughout the nation's political infrastructure, Trump has maintained that those in prison or on trial were political prisoners and "hostages," targeted by former President Joe Biden's Justice Department.
“What they’ve done to these people is outrageous,” Trump said as he signed a flurry of executive orders in the Oval Office on Monday, Jan. 20, hours after being inaugurated, according to The Hill.
Among those who received Trump's mercy were at least 13 people from Connecticut, per NBC Connecticut. Those included:
- Richard Crosby Jr., of Harwinton
- Gino DiGiovanni Jr., of Derby
- Jeremy K. Baouche, of New London
- Benjamin Cohen, of Westport
- James Roe Cleary, of Waterford
- Jean Lavin and daughter Carla Krzywicki, of Canterbury
- Richard Markey, of Wolcott
- Michal Kenny and brother Thomas Kenny, of Greenwich
- Victoria Bergeson, of Groton
- Mauricio Mendez, of Groton
- Patrick Edward McCaughey, of Ridgefield
This list is not exhaustive and others from Connecticut could be identified later.
Some of those listed entered the Capitol Building and may have damaged property, while others — McCaughey, Markey, and Cohen — were convicted or accused of fighting or violently resisting police who had tried to hold back rioters, per the Norwich Bulletin.
More than 140 police officers were injured during the day — some died from their injuries later or committed suicide following the riot — and at least one Trump supporter (Ashli Babbitt) was killed after being shot by an officer when she stormed the Capitol.
Among those pardoned were members of the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers, who were convicted of seditious conspiracy, the harshest of the charges, per NBC News.
Many state and federal leaders have said the pardons and commutations set a dangerous precedent for the use of political violence against an opponent's enemies.
US Sen. Richard Blumenthal, a Connecticut Democrat, called the pardons "sickening."
These mass pardons are sickening — the ultimate disrespect for police officers who were assaulted brutally by criminal rioters, suffering lasting injuries and death in some cases. Giving a blanket pass to cop killers and other insurrectionists, convicted by juries of everyday Americans, discredits justice and law enforcement. Shame on Republican colleagues who were protected that terrible day and now stay silent.
Democrat Gov. Ned Lamont told CT Insider that he was "shocked" by the broad brush applied to the pardons.
"You can say, look, some of these people got wrapped up in the event and pardon them if they didn't commit any crimes," he said. "But you're pardoning people that beat the stuffing out of police. I'm shocked that more people aren't speaking out about that."
An email to the Connecticut state Republican leadership was not immediately returned. This story will be updated if they respond.
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