‘We Believe in Redemption’: Speaker Mike Johnson Stands By Trump’s Jan 6 Pardons Despite Past ‘Back the Blue’ Rhetoric
Speaker Mike Johnson argued for “redemption” while standing by President Donald Trump’s controversial decision to issue a sweeping pardon for every single protestor on January 6th who was criminally charged and or convicted.
On Monday night, just hours of taking the oath of office, Trump signed a series of executive orders and actions — one of which was to give over 1,500 participants in the Capitol riots following Trump’s “Stop the Steal” rally received a practical “get out of jail” pass. While many of the charged protestors were ostensibly incarcerated over simple trespassing charges, a significant number were accused and convicted for attacking Capitol Police officers based on video evidence that has been broadly distributed.
During a Wednesday morning House GOP press conference designed to lay out the House Republican Agenda for the next two years, CNN’s Manu Raju asked Speaker Johnson how support for this pardon for people who violently attack law enforcement stands in line with Republican “Back the Blue” rhetoric from the past decade-plus. “If those rioters come to the Capitol, will you welcome them back here?” Raju asked.
“Everybody can describe this however they want,” Johnson replied, before putting responsibility for their pardon squarely on Trump. “The president has the pardon and commutation authority. It’s his decision. And I think what was made clear all along is that peaceful protests and people who engage in them should never be punished.”
After blasting the “weaponization of the Department of Justice” under Biden, Johnson tried to turn the page to a bright new future for those who were pardoned, including leaders of extremist groups like the Oath Keepers and Proud Boys.
“We believe in redemption. We believe in second chances,” Johnsons said. “If you could, you would argue that those people didn’t pay a heavy penalty after being incarcerated, and all of that is up to you. But the president’s made a decision. We move forward. There are better days ahead of us. That’s what we’re excited about. We’re not looking backwards, we’re looking forwards.”
Watch above via CSPAN.
