WASHINGTON ― Current and former police officers who defended the U.S. Capitol from President Donald Trump’s mob on Jan. 6, 2021, were outraged Monday by Trump’s mass pardon of the rioters.
“Today is another dark day in American history and a continuation of the stain that January 6th left on our nation,” former U.S. Capitol Police officer Harry Dunn said in a statement. “I am infuriated, but not surprised in the slightest. We can’t pretend to be shocked because Trump has fulfilled his longstanding promise to pardon the criminals he incited to attack me and my fellow officers.”
The Justice Department charged more than 1,500 people with crimes for attacking the Capitol that day, including hundreds for interfering with or assaulting law enforcement. Dozens of officers suffered injuries that day; five officers died afterward, one from a stroke and four by suicide.
On Monday, in one of his first acts as president, Trump offered clemency to all involved, commuting the sentences of 14 offenders who orchestrated the storming of the Capitol and offering “a full, complete and unconditional pardon to all other individuals convicted of offenses related to events that occurred at or near the United States Capitol on January 6, 2021,” according to a release from the White House.
“This is a miserable miscarriage of justice and erases accountability for the criminals who have done irreparable damage to our nation,” Former Capitol Police Sgt. Aquilino Gonell said in statement. “The scars of January 6, 2021 are seared in my mind and body, and I will never truly recover from the events of that day.”
Dunn and Gonell have been outspoken critics of Trump for inciting the riot and pledging to pardon members of the mob. Dunn left the Capitol Police for an unsuccessful bid for a U.S. House seat in Maryland; Gonell said he left due to injuries sustained on Jan. 6, including to his shoulder and foot. Both have partnered with a liberal group called Courage for America to warn against Trump’s embrace of political violence.
Current D.C. police officer Daniel Hodges offered a more understated reaction to the pardons Monday evening.
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“Just worked about 14 hours making sure Trump’s inauguration was secure and peaceful, got home, read this,” Hodges said on social media. “Thanks America.”