This is Not Normal: Trump Frees His Insurrectionists

I gotta admit, not much makes me laugh these days.
But you know what does? Whenever I hear Donald Trump’s supporters ask, so plaintively, “Why is this country so divided?”

After the state service for former President Jimmy Carter, I heard somebody admiring the “wonderful exchange” between Trump and President Barack Obama, as they talked civilly and even shared a laugh. (I guess they didn’t notice President Obama rolling his eyes.)

“Why can’t America be like that?” she asked. “The way it is now, you show up for Thanksgiving, and your aunt accuses you of being a Nazi!”

I didn’t have the heart to tell her, one of those men accused the other of being an illegitimate President, that he wasn’t an American-born citizen.
(That was a lie, of course, like a lot of the things Trump has said.)
The other man had the grace and dignity to sit next to Donald Trump, and to be civil to him.

Do you really want to know why this country is so divided?
Because of things like what Donald Trump did, on the night of his inauguration.

He had promised a lot of things on Day One.
He would bring about peace in the Middle East.
He’d stop the Russia-Ukraine war.
He’d bring down the price of eggs.

He didn’t do any of those.
But he did pardon his January 6^th insurrectionists.

Every single one of them.

He let all 1,583 insurrectionists back out into the street.
Even the ones convicted of violent crimes.
Those who had attacked police officers.
Those who had killed a police officer.

I know a lot of people who voted for Trump. Good people, good friends of mine.
I ask them: Is this what you voted for?
I didn’t think so.

This is not normal.

*          *          *

In the weeks before Trump’s takeover, he and his staff soft-shoed the idea of releasing the insurrectionists.

Eight days before the inauguration, JD Vance had said, “If you committed violence that day, obviously you shouldn’t be pardoned.”
(Oops… You probably should’ve checked with your boss, JD.
You better watch your back, “Hillbilly Kid”… You don’t wanna end up like Mike Pence!)

Trump, for his part, kept lying. “We’ll look at these on a case-by-case basis.”

But as the day approached, and his team wrestled with the nuances of the pardons, the “case-by-case” thing became too much for Donald to bother with.
“Fuck it… Release ‘em all!” he said, according to two members of his staff.

In normal circumstances, a little thought would go into a pardon.

This is not normal.

*          *          *

Let’s look the facts:

• 600 rioters were accused of assaulting, resisting, or impeding officers.
• One officer, Michael Sicknick, was beaten so severely that he had a stroke, which killed him.
  Three other officers were so traumatized that they later committed suicide.
• Ten rioters were convicted of sedition.
• They wounded more than 140 officers.
• The rioters used “firearms, stun guns, flagpoles, fire extinguishers, bike racks, batons, a metal whip, office furniture, pepper spray, bear spray, a tomahawk, a hatchet, a hockey stick, knuckle gloves, a baseball bat, a Trump billboard, Trump flags, a pitchfork, pieces of lumber, crutches and an explosive device.” (Ryan J Reilly, NBC News)

Remember this guy?
You may recall him as “The QAnon Shaman.”
Real name? Jacob Chansley.

This is what he Tweeted the day he got his release.
Doesn’t that make you feel good?

Here’s the interesting thing.
There are now 1,583 domestic terrorists, walking free across this land.

Trump just freed up his Proud Boys, his Oath Keepers, his Three Percenters.
His personal militia, to do his bidding.

And not only that – he gave them a Get Out of Jail card.
Literally.

This is not normal.

Do you want to know why people compare Trump to Hitler?
Because this is exactly what Hitler did.
In 1935, when he freed 23 of his violent SA guards, to create his own militia, forerunners of his SS, as Harry Litman reminds us.

This is not normal.

*          *          *

Those of you who try to defend his decision: Stop it.
We have had enough.

Enough with “it was just a tourist visit.”
We’ll believe the videos we’ve all seen. Not Tucker Carlson.

Enough with “it was the weaponization of the DOJ.”
These insurrectionists weren’t convicted by the Department of Justice.
They were all convicted by a jury of their peers.
(In all the trials, not a single one was acquitted by a jury. Two of the insurrectionists had their jury convictions overturned by judges.)

Enough with the martyrdom of Ashlii Babbitt.
She was killed while trying to harm a police officer.
She was killed by a police officer who was doing his job.
She was killed while trying to overthrow the government.

And please, enough of “What about Portland?”

• The protesters in Portland, Oregon were not taking over The Capitol.
• The protesters in Portland did not kill police officers.
• They weren’t trying to overturn the results of an election.
• They were protesting because unarmed people were being killed by police – just because they were black. And it had to stop.

The insurrectionists who overtook The Capitol were angry because their favorite reality TV star didn’t get to be President.
They were trying to overthrow the government – at the command of their leader.

Do you know what they call people who try to overthrow the government?

Traitors.

*          *          *

You may have had your reasons for voting for Trump.

You can tell me how immigration is a mess, and I will agree.
(Although I will point out that Republicans worked with Joe Biden to create a bipartisan deal to improve immigration policy – until Trump strong-armed them into rejecting it.)

You can tell me how inflation has made life tough, and I will agree.
(Although I will point out that inflation started during Trump’s reign of Covid, spread throughout the world, and was coming down under Biden.)

But you cannot tell me that these insurrectionists, who violently attacked The People’s House should be allowed to walk free.
You cannot tell me that you stand for law and order – but that you support these violent monsters who killed one policeman, and sent three others to their death.
The country’s largest police union, the Fraternal Order of Police, has spoken out against the pardons.

As an old Republican, I don’t need to be reminded of the importance of law and order.

Just please don’t tell me how you “back the blue.”