Target: Todd Blanche, Acting U.S. Attorney General
Goal: Do not vacate convictions of individuals who committed violence during Capitol riots.
The alleged assassination attempt at the White House Correspondents Dinner has put political violence back in the spotlight. At the same time, one of the most notorious acts of political violence is ironically being erased from the record by an administration targeted multiple times with such violence. “I pardoned people that were assaulted themselves. They were assaulted by our government. They didn’t assault.” President Trump made this remark shortly after pardoning individuals convicted in the wake of the January 6 Capitol riots.
Perhaps the president should have fact-checked his claim with the 140 officers injured that day or the families of the officers who lost their lives in the days following. The administration has decided to take their audacious move a step further and completely eradicate the convictions of at least 12 individuals associated with the insurrection. The repercussions of such an action would fly in the face of the American justice system and could very well prove dangerous.
“We should have brought rifles. We could have fixed it right then and there.” This is just one recorded statement played at the trial of an individual who was eventually sentenced to prison. The rhetoric is far from isolated. Many of the people who will have their sentences vacated are members of accused extremist groups like the Proud Boys and the Oath Keepers. Multiple people who received pardons went on to be accused of other violent crimes, including a man being investigated for child sexual abuse. If their convictions are tossed aside, all of these individuals will very likely regain access to firearms. But weapons are not all they may be getting. Following the president’s pardon of another associate who had actually pled guilty to his crimes, this associate – Michael Flynn – went on to sue for wrongful conviction and was handed over one million dollars by the Department of Justice. Everyone convicted in the January 6 case could file similar suits and end up being handsomely rewarded for crimes of which they were convicted by juries of their peers.
Sign the petition below to demand the Department of Justice stop trying to rewrite history and reward criminal behavior.
PETITION LETTER:
Dear Acting Attorney General Blanche,
Blame the victim: it’s a tactic with which most prosecutors are well-acquainted, but not one which they normally practice. A January 6 website unveiled by the White House recently repurposed that fateful day as the fault of the police officers who guarded the Capitol: officers who, according to the website, “turned a peaceful demonstration into chaos” with “provocative tactics.” While protesters who died of natural causes were “killed,” further explains the website, “zero law enforcement officers lost their lives.” The family of Brian Sicknick, who died from strokes induced by being bashed in the head — or the four officers who committed suicide thereafter — might beg to differ.
How does the Department of Justice, which wears its love and respect for law enforcement like a badge of honor, plan to honor the memories of these fallen officers? Will it really vacate the sentences of 12 Oath Keepers and Proud Boys, many of whom expressly stated their only regret was that more harm wasn’t inflicted? Will it grant these same individuals full access to guns once again? Will it erase the criminal records of people who have subsequently been accused of other violent crimes? And will it sell its soul and its mission to seek truth and justice and instead erase history itself for power and influence that will quickly fade?
For the sake of American justice and for the survival of American democracy, let the answer to all of these questions be an emphatic “No.”
Sincerely,
[Your Name Here]
Photo Credit: Voice of America
.jpg){kind=link}