In one of his initial actions during his second presidential term, Donald Trump issued pardons to hundreds of individuals involved in the attack on the US Capitol on January 6, 2021, including those who assaulted law enforcement officers.
On Monday, Trump took to social media to issue warnings related to the demonstrations in Los Angeles concerning his immigration policies and confrontations with the police. He stated: “If they spit, we will hit back harder than ever! Such disrespect is unacceptable!”
The inconsistency in Trump’s reactions to the two incidents—expressing admiration for the January 6 rioters while condemning violence against law enforcement in Los Angeles—reveals his expectation that his adversaries adhere to a different standard than his supporters.
“Trump’s actions clearly demonstrate that he values the rule of law and its enforcers only when advantageous politically,” remarked Brendan Nyhan, a political scientist from Dartmouth University.
Trump pardoned over 1,000 individuals who attempted to obstruct the 2021 power transition, during which approximately 140 officers were injured. Matthew Graves, a former U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, characterized it as “probably the most significant day of law enforcement assaults” in American history.
The pardons included individuals convicted of attacking police with items like flagpoles, hockey sticks, and crutches. Many of these assaults were documented by surveillance and body cameras, exhibiting a mob’s violent engagement with officers desperately defending against the frenzied crowd.
While some offenders were convicted of non-violent crimes, court records indicate at least 276 defendants were found guilty of assault. Nearly 300 others had pending charges dismissed as a consequence of Trump’s extreme acts of clemency.
Around 180 defendants faced charges of assault, resisting, or obstructing law enforcement during civil unrest.
“These individuals are extremely violent, and their actions are treated as if they went unpunished, while now the president seems to leverage the perceived violence of some protesters as justification for his aggressive stance against the Capitol siege.
A White House spokesperson, Harrison Fields, defended the president’s stance, asserting that “President Trump has been elected to secure borders and equip federal agents with the necessary tools to implement this plan, restoring law and order.”
Trump appeared to have a broader strategy in mind, using civil unrest as a platform to exercise extensive presidential powers. On Monday, he mobilized a U.S. Marine battalion to assist the National Guard, deploying security personnel on Saturday amidst opposition from California Governor Gavin Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass.
The deployment of the National Guard by the President recalls actions taken during the 1992 Rodney King riots when President George H.W. Bush invoked the Insurrection Act. Those riots were far more violent and widespread than the current protests, which are primarily confined to downtown, an area encompassing around 469 square miles of a nearly four million-strong population.
The current demonstrations were ignited by events that took place on Saturday in Paramount, located southeast of downtown Los Angeles.
California officials, predominantly Democrats, contended that Trump seeks to foment chaos to expand his authority. Newsom, suggesting that Trump be arrested, labeled the president’s actions as “authoritarian.” Even Rick Caruso, a notable Los Angeles Republican and former mayoral candidate, expressed on social media that the president should refrain from calling upon the National Guard.
Following the arrival of security personnel, the demonstrations intensified, blocking highways in downtown Los Angeles. Some protesters set several self-driving cars ablaze and hurled debris and fireworks at the Los Angeles police.
Romano expressed concern that Trump’s double standards regarding how protesters should interact with law enforcement could undermine the perception of police in American society.
He noted that, during the Capitol attack, many in the mob believed that the police existed to support their presence in the building. Romano stated that supporters of such a transactional approach to law enforcement, especially after George Floyd’s murder in 2020, are toxic to the discourse surrounding authority.
“We must expect law enforcement to perform their duties correctly,” he advised, warning that perceiving them as merely allies of the president could “erode public trust in law enforcement.”
___
Contributions to this report were made by Associated Press reporters Michael Kunzlman and Alana Durkin from Washington.
Source: apnews.com