CORAL GABLES, Fla. – After being sworn into office on Monday, one of the first official acts of President Donald Trump was a sweeping grant of clemency for all tied to the attack on the U.S Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.
Rioters were released across the country after the president issued pardons and commuted the sentences of everyone involved, both violent and nonviolent offenders.
It’s an extreme about face from Trump’s words years ago, telling the violent mob that stormed the Capitol that they didn’t represent this country’s core values.
Longtime South Florida law enforcement officer and former police chief David Magnusson said at the very least, the violent offenders shouldn’t have been let off the hook like this.
“I don’t think I was taken so much surprised as I was, kinda pissed off,” Magnusson said. “They’re not patriots. They’re not patriots attacking police. This was a massive attack with bear spray, with fire extinguishers, some got badly beaten. It was a vicious attack and it’s like now, ‘Eh you did nothing wrong, have a nice day.’ I can’t subscribe to that, I’m sorry.”
Among the pardons was Julian Khater, who used chemical spray on Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick, who died a day after the riot, suffering two strokes.
Sicknick’s brother called the pardons a betrayal of decency.
Former Washington D.C. police officer Michael Fanone was beaten and suffered a heart attack. He was also tased.
South Floridians among those pardoned include former Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio, and members of the far-right group Oath Keepers.
Another was Bryan Bishop. The 52-year-old Marathon man was convicted of attacking police officers with a “chemical irritant” at the Capitol.
As reunions move forward, Magnusson wondered what’s next.
“With these people coming in, I don’t know where this is going to go,” he said. “They feel emboldened that nothing’s going to happen. They can do it again.”