“…we have to give them back their dignity. We have to. We just have to give them back their dignity.” – Donald Trump speaking about the police on The Joe Rogan Experience, Oct. 25, 2024
Dignity, shmigity. There’s only one question Trump considers in every decision he makes and that involves loyalty to him. Period. It doesn’t matter that police were viciously beaten on January 6, 2021, doing their job to protect the Capital and the people in it. Those violent insurrectionists supported Trump in his delusion that the election was stolen, so ipso facto, they are good people. Everyone else can “go to hell.”
So let’s examine the actions and repercussions of Trump’s Executive Order.
Trump fully pardoned or dismissed the verdicts of more than 1,500 rioters. Each was found guilty by a jury. The most serious were convicted of seditious conspiracy. Many pled guilty and a few were still awaiting trial. Without exception, and without considering the seriousness of the actions, all were either fully pardoned or their sentence was commuted. There were no exceptions. 140 police officers were injured that day. The leaders of the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers received prison sentences of 22 and 18 years respectively. More than 130 individuals were convicted of assault on the police.
The pardons make no distinction between those who are the least and most culpable. Everyone was literally given a get-out-of-jail-free card. And they didn’t have to do anything to earn it…they had already proven their fealty to Trump by attacking police, storming the Capital, damaging federal property, and disrupting the smooth transfer of power. No expression of remorse or regret was needed to achieve these pardons. In fact, on release, several said they had no regrets and would do it all again.
These insurrectionists were given a pass because their political beliefs and their actions were in support of Trump. That’s all. They are out and could act again. And why not? They know they will not be held accountable. They belong to Trump to use how he sees fit.
This is just the beginning. Of this we can be sure: Trump meant every threat he made leading up to his election. Believe him. Some who supported him are already having second thoughts. A perfect example is contained in a statement make by the Fraternal Order of Police who are ‘deeply discouraged” by the pardons and commutations. They endorsed Trump in the last three general elections but now denounce the “dangerous message” that pardoning those convicted of assaulting police sends.
It must have been especially galling to see Stewart Rhodes, founder of the Oath Keepers, enjoying a meal in a congressional dining hall in the Capital a day after his release from prison.
Remember this action when, at some time in the future, Trump decries the treatment of police. As the leader of this country, he provided the model – one that stripped police of their dignity and pride. He made his choice between the violent insurrectionists and the police.
And remember this, too. Everything Trump does is transactional; support me and I’ll support you. A very simple edict from a very simple man.
This is just the beginning.
Marsha Shearer is a resident of The Villages and the author of “America in Crisis: Essays on the Failed Presidency of Donald J. Trump.”
