CINCINNATI — President Trump pardoned 1500 Jan. 6 rioters, and some police organizations are now condemning the move, according to our news partner WCPO in Cincinnati.
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The Fraternal Order of Police and the International Association of Chiefs of Police released a joint statement Tuesday night, WCPO says.
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The organizations say they are “deeply discouraged” by the recent pardons and commutations granted by President Biden and President Trump for those convicted of killing or assaulting police officers, WCPO says.
“It sends a dangerous message that the consequences for attacking law enforcement are not severe, potentially emboldening others to commit similar acts of violence,” part of the statement says.
“It’s frustrating, it sends a terrible message to law enforcement,” said Ken Kober, president of the Cincinnati FOP, to WCPO.
According to Kober, the Cincinnati Police Department is short 140 officers, and explained the impact it could have on recruiting efforts, WCPO says.
“If people believe that they can just go out freely and assault law enforcement and that there’s going to be little to no consequence, it certainly could have an impact on policing recruiting retention,” said Kober to WCPO.
Kober also criticized Biden for commuting the sentence of Death Row inmate Daryl Lawrence, who will now only serve a life sentence, WCPO says. Lawrence was convicted of killing a Columbus POlice officer while he was working in 2005.
“He was a partner of a friend of mine that worked up there and was murdered in a bank robbery and President Biden commuted his sentence. A guy that’s a convicted cop killer and that was bad enough, that really hit home,” said Kober to WCPO. “I think the biggest reason this is done right now is, you know, politics are being picked over policing.”
Cincinnati City Council member Scotty Johnson condemned President Trump’s pardons for the January 6th defendants, WCPO says.
“The President, I believe, kicked us in the gut,” said Johnson to WCPO. “We can never send that message that it’s ok to enact violence on anybody and then specifically on law enforcement officers and then act like it’s no big deal. The president blew it on this and that’s how the majority of our law enforcement officers feel.”
Like the FOP and IACP, some lawyers, former federal investigators and experts who follow extremism are concerned this could embolden extremists and make political violence more common, WCPO says.
“This move doesn’t just rewrite the narrative of January 6,” said Heidi Beirich, co-founder of the Global Project Against Hate and Extremism, according to WCPO. “It sets a dangerous precedent that political violence is a legitimate tool in American democracy.”
Plenty of the charges in the Jan. 6 investigation did not involve violence, and many who received clemency are ready to move on, WCPO says.
Michael Premo, a documentarian who followed right-wing activists including a Proud Boy who participated in the riot, says this could become a megaphone, according to WCPO.
“This going to build that base of support so when the next election cycle comes around ... there’s the potential for Trump to hold onto power or to ensure his successor comes into office,” Premo said to WCPO.
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