SEATTLE — U.S. Sen. Patty Murray introduced a resolution Tuesday condemning President Donald Trump’s pardoning of people who were found guilty of assaulting Capitol police officers on Jan. 6, 2021.
“It is a betrayal of the law enforcement that protected all of us that day, and a dangerous endorsement of political violence, telling criminals that you can beat cops within an inch of their lives as long as it’s in service to Donald Trump,” Murray said on the Senate floor Tuesday afternoon.
Among those pardoned by Trump were 169 people who pleaded guilty to assaulting police officers, according to Murray’s office. During the Capitol siege, spurred by Trump’s lies about a stolen election, over 80 police officers were attacked.
Last week, about 30 people with ties to Washington, and roughly 1,500 across the nation, had their cases dropped as a result of the mass pardon. The U.S. presidential pardon grants legal forgiveness, ends any further punishment and restores rights such as being able to vote, run for public office and own a firearm.
All 47 members of the Senate Democratic Caucus co-sponsored the resolution introduced by Murray, but it failed to pass. While Murray condemned all of the pardons, the resolution only condemns the pardoning of those who assaulted police.
A resolution in the Senate effectively does nothing. Rather, it expresses the shared sentiment of senators.
“I will not sit by and allow President Trump to rewrite the history of the January 6 insurrection,” Murray said on the floor.
Murray pointed to the wealth of videos and photos from Jan. 6 that showed rioters physically assaulting police officers. Murray herself narrowly escaped members of the mob.
In the days and weeks after the riot, several police officers who were at the Capitol died, including Officer Brian Sicknick of the Capitol Police, who was attacked by the mob, suffered a stroke and died of natural causes on Jan. 7. Washington Metropolitan Police Department Officer Jeffrey Smith and Capitol Police Officer Howard S. Liebengood of the Capitol Police died by suicide in the days after.
“It’s a miscarriage of justice, a betrayal, a mockery, and a desecration of the men and women that risked their lives defending our democracy,” Aquilino Gonell, a former Capitol Police sergeant, told The New York Times. Gonell had to retire because of the injuries he sustained Jan. 6.
In Washington, around 30 people were pardoned. Five Washington men were released from federal prison, including 34-year-old Ethan Nordean, a prominent member of the far-right Proud Boys. One person let out of prison, Marc Bru, harassed Capitol police and pushed them.
Few Republican leaders have condemned Trump’s pardon of the rioters. Before Inauguration Day, Vice President JD Vance said those who committed violence during the riot “shouldn’t be pardoned” on Fox News. He has since backtracked, defending the president after Trump’s unconditional, total pardons was one of his first actions as president.
“I don’t think there’s anything here for anyone to disagree with,” Murray said on the Senate floor about the resolution.
She was incorrect.
In response to Murray’s resolution, Republican Sen. John Barrasso of Wyoming pointed to Biden’s thousands of pardons, including that of his son Hunter Biden, and said Democrats were using police officers “in political games.” Barrasso blocked Murray’s request for unanimous support of the resolution.
At a news conference Tuesday morning, Murray and other senators intended to air the resolution. Instead, they slammed the Trump administration’s order made the night before to pause all federal grants and loans.
Before introducing the resolution, Murray said the first week of Trump’s administration can be summarized in one word: “lawlessness.”
