WASHINGTON (AP) — Donald Trump issued pardons for participants in the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol, including those convicted of assaulting police, in his first official action after returning to the White House as the country’s 47th president on Monday.
The pardons of about 1,500 people fulfilled Trump’s promise to release supporters who tried to help him overturn his election defeat four years ago. Another 14 people had their sentences commuted.
“These are the hostages,” he said while signing the paperwork in the Oval Office.
The people he pardoned are going to either commit violence, or be the victims of it. Either way it creates an excuse to crack down on public discourse, declare martial law, or put down insurrection.
They’ll do it with or without such an excuse. Organize and train. The only choices we have are to allow ourselves to be victimized, or to resist. Don’t make it easy for them. Make them suffer horribly for every minor gain.
The few people that saved their homes after the Hawaii fires or the California fires were proud of themselves for saving their homes. Until they realized they now have a house surrounded by ash in a neighborhood of ash.
Don’t build a fireproof home, build a fireproof community.