Only a few Republicans in Congress oppose Trump’s Jan. 6 pardon

A small group of Republicans in Congress on Tuesday criticized President Donald Trump’s pardon of more than 1,500 people charged for their actions during the attack on the Capitol on January 6, 2021. including rioters who violently attacked the police.

“I disagree,” Sen. Thom Tillis, R-North Carolina, told reporters on Capitol Hill Tuesday morning, adding that he would propose new legislation to strengthen penalties for violent acts. the law enforcement authorities.

“I’m about to introduce two bills that will increase the penalties, up to the death penalty, for killing a police officer and increase the penalties and create a federal crime for assaulting a police officer,” Mr. Tillis told one . a crowd of reporters gathered outside his office.

Members of Congress ran for their lives from the Capitol four years ago under siege by pro-Trump mobs, and many Republicans made strong statements after the attack. but violent rioters must be prosecuted to the fullest extent. the way. But on Tuesday, few spoke out against Mr. Trump’s pardon, with many Republican lawmakers saying it was time to move on.

“We’re looking to the future, not the past,” said Sen. John Thune, Republican of South Dakota and the majority leader, calling the pardon a “presidential decision.”

But a few found fault with his decision. Senator Susan Collins, Republican of Maine, said that those who committed violence on January 6, 2021, should not apologize.

“While I believe that some Americans were victimized by the public on January 6th and may deserve the mercy granted by President Trump, there is a big difference between violent crimes and non-violent crimes. there’s violence,” Ms. Collins said. “I do not support amnesty for people who committed violence on January 6, including attacking police, or breaking windows to enter the Capitol, for example.”

Senator Kevin Cramer, Republican of North Dakota, acknowledged that the problem was rife, especially for lawmakers who were in the Capitol when the attack occurred.

“I was there,” he told reporters. ” I saw it. More than a series of noisy tours. It’s certainly not what a lot of people thought it was.”

But he argued that Mr. Trump’s pardon was an opportunity to end the entire episode.

“It’s not good,” Mr. Cramer said. “But for the greater good, he did it to move on and I’m ready to move on.”

In the immediate aftermath of the chaos at the Capitol, Mr. Cramer spoke in vague terms about how he might have handled the situation if he had been a police officer that day.

“If I was in charge of security at the US Capitol and a man came through a window, I would put a bullet in his head,” Mr. Cramer said in an interview at the time.

Last week before he was sworn in as vice president, JD Vance made it clear during an interview on “Fox News Sunday” that violent rioters should not be pardoned.

“If you were violent that day, of course you shouldn’t be forgiven,” Mr. Vance said at the time.

His words seemed to clear the way for former colleagues in the same way.

Days after that interview, Sen. Katie Britt, Republican of Alabama, told the crowd during a live interview with Politico that she agreed, saying, “I agree with J.D. me.”

And even after Mr. Trump’s announcement on Monday, Senator Mitch McConnell, Republican of Kentucky, pointed to Mr. Vance’s comments. “Yes, I think I agree with the vice president,” he said in an interview with the Semafor website on Tuesday. “Nobody should excuse violence. And especially violence against police officers. “

Carl Hulse SY Luke Broadwater contributed to the report.