Vice President-elect JD Vance just provided the clearest explanation yet of the Trump administrationā€˜s plans to pardon Jan. 6 rioters, telling ā€œFox News Sundayā€ that while thereā€™s ā€œa little bit of a gray area there,ā€ those who committed violence during the 2021 U.S. Capitol attack ā€œobviouslyā€ shouldnā€™t be pardoned. Those who protested ā€œpeacefully,ā€ however, can expect to have their records wiped clean.

ā€œI think itā€™s very simple,ā€ the former Ohio senator said. ā€œIf you protested peacefully on Jan. 6 and youā€™ve had Merrick Garlandā€™s Department of Justice treat you like a gang member, you should be pardoned. If you committed violence on that day, obviously you shouldnā€™t be pardoned.ā€

Vanceā€™s comments provide a stark contrast to what President-elect Donald Trump has been saying over the past few months, with the future POTUS providing little to no details about who would get the pardons heā€™s been promising except declaring that protesters who assaulted Capitol police officers ā€œhad no choiceā€ that day.

  • NABDad@lemmy.world
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    5 days ago

    Such a strange feeling to agree with JD Vance.

    I also feel that if you stood outside the building and peacefully protested, you shouldnā€™t be charged with a crime.

    Unlike JD, Iā€™m not willing to assume that the government wasted any time prosecuting innocent protestors, when there were so many guilty as sin insurrectionists who needed to be thrown in jail.

    Of course, if they have any evidence of misconduct by prosecutors that didnā€™t get pulled from a magat ass, it should be considered.

    • jonne@infosec.pub
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      5 days ago

      Pretty sure all of the ones that were convicted were involved in more than peaceful protest. I donā€™t think thereā€™s anyone currently in prison that meets Vanceā€™s criteria for a pardon.