Let's remember what really happened. These people, 1,600 that were pardoned, had been in prison for four years. What were their crimes?
In the majority of cases it was "misdemeanor trespass". Four years for that.
The claim that this was a "violent insurrection" is based on two police who were hurt trying to control a large crowd. The weapons were not guns, knives and bombs. No the "weapons" were flag poles, pepper spray, etc. Also, a large number of those who were pardoned were not convicted, they were simply charged. You can indict a ham sandwich, simply being charged is not proof of guilt. 1600 were pardoned, only 250 were actually in prison. Of those the major criminal conviction of a "violent felony" was the use of a violent weapon. In other words, if I determine that a violent crime has been committed using a flagpole, anyone who is holding a flagpole is also guilty as an accomplice, just like if a bank is robbed with a gun, anyone involved in the robbery is also guilty of being an accomplice. One person uses a flag pole as a "violent weapon" then everyone holding a flagpole is also guilty of "using a violent weapon". When you narrow it down it appears that David Dempsey and Daniel Rodriguez were the two men convicted of violent felonies against the police, and everyone else convicted was simply "an accomplice".
David Dempsey was the one who was clearly and without any question was a violent offender. So let's look at him:
Dempsey had a lengthy criminal record prior to the Capitol attack, including convictions for burglary, theft, and drug dealing. He was also known for prior acts of political violence in California: [1, 2]
- 2019 Santa Monica Pier: He was sentenced to 200 days in jail for dousing anti-Trump protesters with bear spray.
- Other Incidents: Prosecutors documented separate uncharged incidents where he allegedly attacked demonstrators with skateboards and a metal bat at various rallies in 2019 and 2020.
Washington DC police arrested the Proud boys the night before, these were the ones who provide security at the stop the steal rallies. They stripped the security from the rally the night before. So if they were targeting Proud Boys, why not also arrest David Dempsey? But, here is my question, he was given 200 days for dousing anti-Trump protestors with bear spray in a previous rally, so why were those who used bear spray in this rally given 4 years? Why are people making a stink about them being pardoned after 4 years rather than making a stink about California only giving 200 days? If they had given him 1 year he wouldn't have been free to come to the J6 rally.
Official Statements and Rationale
Trump defended the move in both a written proclamation and verbal comments to reporters: [1, 2, 3]
- Excessive Sentences: In a White House press conference on January 21, 2025, he called the prison terms "ridiculous and excessive," stating that many of the individuals had already "suffered long and hard" while serving years in jail.
- National Reconciliation: His official Presidential Proclamation stated the pardons were intended to end what he called four years of "unfairly targeted" prosecutions and to heal national divisions.
- Comparison to Other Crimes: Trump frequently justified his decision by claiming that "murderers don’t even go to jail in this country" anymore, suggesting a double standard in how his supporters were treated compared to criminals in major cities.
- Political Persecution: Administration officials, including Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, argued the pardons corrected "due process" violations by a "weaponized Department of Justice." [1, 2, 3]
Public Statements During the Signing
While signing the order in the Oval Office, Trump remarked, "These are the hostages—approximately 1,500—for a pardon." He expressed his hope that they would be released immediately, many within that same evening.
I asked how many people attended the rally and "officially" the estimate is 53,000. That is totally absurd. I was there, I have video evidence and estimates made of the crowd from aerial pictures place it between 500,000 and 1,000,000. I was also at the Charlie Kirk memorial and they know from tracking cell phones that 277,000 attended that. I would say the crowd at the J6 rally was bigger than the crowd at the memorial, but not 4x bigger, so I would lean towards the 500,000 number.
This event is able to be characterized as "violent" because of the actions of a few men, if five men were truly violent, then this rally with 500,000 was truly "mostly peaceful". Calling it a "violent insurrection" is stretching the reality as far from the truth as is physically possible.
www.ms.now
