On January 20th, Donald Trump signed an executive order pardoning all of the January 6th rioters who have been detained, many without a trial, since the riot.  This action came under immense fire from the left, claiming that the pardons were anti-American and betrayed the rule of law.  Charlie Largess ’26 said, “Trump’s pardon of those involved sets a dangerous precedent by undermining the rule of law, emboldening future attacks on democratic institutions, and trivializing the severity of their offenses.”  

While I agree that the rule of law should be upheld, it is also undeniable that many January 6th rioters were not granted their constitutional rights when they were detained.  The Justice Department revealed that roughly 200 rioters have still not been given a trial, 4 years after January 6th.  This is a blatant disregard of habeas corpus and therefore a blatant betrayal of the “rule of law.”  While, in an ideal world, those who committed crimes on January 6th (particularly the very small percentage of them who committed more serious crimes such as assault) would be held accountable, it was the justice system itself that failed to do this. Therefore, I believe that Trump’s decision to pardon the rioters, while it should not have been necessary, was the obvious thing to do.  

Personally, I believe that the characterization of the January 6th rioters as violent and dangerous criminals is a vast overstatement.  Of those who did receive trials and convictions, 58% of those convicted were for misdemeanors like vandalism and disorderly conduct, and 48% were charged with felonies. In exact numbers, only 372 of all 1600 people were convicted of assaulting, resisting, or impeding officers or employees, and only 366 of the rioters were actually sentenced to jail time. This leaves over 1200 people who were not convicted of a crime serious enough for jail time. Even those who were sentenced and incarcerated still had to wait at least a year before even receiving a trial.  While these people should have been held accountable, the government was unable to do so in an efficient and rightful manner.  As a result, I believe that the January 6th pardons are not releasing dangerous criminals, and are in fact upholding the “rule of law.”