WSJ Editorial Board Condemns Trump’s Blanket Pardons for January 6 Rioters

The Wall Street Journal editorial board sharply criticized former President Donald Trump on Tuesday for issuing blanket pardons to 1,500 individuals involved in the January 6 Capitol riot, where efforts were made to disrupt the peaceful transfer of power to President Joe Biden.

Although traditionally conservative, the Journal has often taken issue with Trump’s decisions, including his recent focus on the Panama Canal. This time, however, the editorial board’s critique was especially severe.

“Republicans are busy denouncing President Biden’s pre-emptive pardons for his family and political allies, and deservedly so,” the editorial stated. “But then it’s a shame you don’t hear many, if any, ruing President Trump’s proclamation to pardon unconditionally nearly all of the people who rioted at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.

This includes those convicted of bludgeoning, chemical spraying, and electroshocking police to try to keep Mr. Trump in power. Now he’s springing them from prison.” The board called the mass pardon a “rotten message” regarding political violence, particularly since Trump and Vice President J.D. Vance had previously indicated that clemency would be considered only for non-violent offenders.

“So much for that,” they wrote. Instead, the proclamation commuted sentences for 14 specific individuals, including leaders of the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers, and granted “a full, complete, and unconditional pardon to all other individuals” involved.

The Journal rebuked the rationale behind the blanket pardon, highlighting Trump’s justification that most participants were merely well-meaning supporters in the wrong place at the wrong time. The board countered that many of those pardoned were convicted of violent acts, such as using brass knuckles, wasp spray, and electroshock devices against Capitol police. These individuals, they emphasized, comprised the majority of those given long sentences.

The editorial also lamented how drastically the GOP’s tone has shifted since January 6. It recalled a tweet from Marco Rubio, now Secretary of State, during the attack: “‘There is nothing patriotic about what is occurring on Capitol Hill,’ one GOP official tweeted. ‘This is 3rd world style anti-American anarchy.'”

“Rubio was right,” the board wrote. “What happened that day is a stain on Mr. Trump’s legacy. By setting free the cop beaters, the President adds another.” The editorial reflects growing concern over the long-term implications of minimizing the events of January 6, even among some of Trump’s conservative critics.