The Capitol Rioters Have No Regrets, and Promise to Seek Revenge
The Capitol rioters that received pardons from President Donald Trump have expressed no remorse for their actions, and have promised revenge: “It’s my turn to go on offense.”
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During his first day in the White House, President Donald Trump issued pardons to “all of the nearly 1,600 people charged in connection with the attack on the Capitol” and “issued commutations for more than a dozen cases,” and the sweeping pardons and commutations have led to the release from prison of numerous individuals that participated in extremely violent actions on January 6, 2021.
There have been a few Capitol rioters who have publicly stated that they are rejecting Trump’s pardon. However, the vast majority of individuals that have been charged or convicted for participating in the Capitol Riot have expressed gratitude for receiving the pardon and pledge their loyalty to Trump.
There have also been several Capitol rioters, including but not limited to those connected to the far right extremist groups that planned and organized the insurrection, that have promised retribution against anyone involved in the investigations and prosecutions of those that participated in the violent attack on the U.S. Capitol.
Enrique Tarrio, former leader of the far right violent extremists group the Proud Boys, and Stewart Rhodes, former leader of the far right militia group the Oath Keepers, have both made public statements that "asserted unrepentantly that they wanted Mr. Trump to seek revenge on their behalf for being prosecuted" for their role in the Capitol Riot.
After returning home, Tarrio said during a press conference that he plans to sue the Department of Justice, and claimed that several people were arrested and charged with crimes that he claims the did not commit. "They took my life from me. The Department of Justice took four years of many American lives just for political gains. For a political purpose,” Tarrio said.
Other members of the Proud Boys and their supporters online are engaged in violent rhetoric and revenge fantasies against former members that accepted plea deals and provided testimony against other Proud Boys.
Rhodes has also called for retribution. During an interview with BBC News, called for "prosecution of Capitol police officers who testified against him at trial and Justice Department lawyers who pursued his case," and during an interview with Alex Jones, Tarrio said that the people who were involved in investigating and prosecuting the Capitol rioters “need to be imprisoned,” and added that “we need to find and put them behind bars for what they did. They need to pay for what they did.”
Rhodes attended Trump’s rally in Las Vegas, Nevada, and reportedly “was among dozens of Trump supporters who stood behind the president as he gave remarks at Circa Resort and Casino touting his first week in office and pledging to push legislation to eliminate taxes from tips.”
Tasha Adams, the ex-wife of Rhodes, said that Rhodes receiving a commutation is “absolutely insane,” and expressed outrage over Rhodes meeting Republican members of Congress. “It’s mind-boggling that he’s out there wandering around being taken seriously when he spearheaded one of the most violent and just horrific days in American history,” Adams said.
A federal judge barred Rhodes from traveling to Washington, D.C. or the U.S. Capitol building “without the court's permission,” however, the judge later rescinded his order order and acknowledged that the travel restrictions “would not be enforced by the Justice Department.”
U.S. Department of Justice has sought to remove the case documents and court records related to the Capitol Riot from government websites, as the “database detailing the vast array of criminal charges and successful convictions” was reportedly “removed from the Department of Justice’s website.”
Brandon Straka, who was sentenced to three years of probation for encouraging Trump supporters to attack the U.S. Capitol building, celebrated the removal of the website as a victory for Capitol Riot defendants, and claimed the “site was one of countless weapons of harassment used by the federal government to make life impossible for its targets from J6.”
Philip Anderson, who was “arrested on felony and misdemeanor charges” related to his participation in the attack on the U.S. Capitol, has become a far right social media influencer and was among the most vocal proponents advocating for blanket pardons of Capitol riot defendants.
In a recent posted, Anderson wrote that “all the big names that the Biden DOJ persecuted to death, tortured in prison, and bankrupted over January 6th are finally out of prison and now back on Twitter,” and added that “they are ready to help us make the communists who did this to us pay. This is going to be fun!”
David Medina, who was “arrested on felony and misdemeanor charges” for participating in the Capitol Riot and who appeared on video “slamming down then Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi’s wooden sign outside her office,” has reportedly wrote on social media that it was now his “turn to go on offense,” and that “accountability will come.”
Zylas Hamilton, who previously “pleaded guilty to two misdemeanor charges” related to his participation the Capitol Riot, said in an interview that he may have done something wrong, but “I feel like I did it for the right reason,” adding that “95% of those people were there because they were so tired of being beat down by this agenda.”
Joshua Haynes, who was sentenced to 32-month in prison for “destroying media equipment and other illegal conduct” during the attack on the U.S. Captiol, said in an interview that he thinks it is “time we put this chapter of American history behind us and move forward.” However, he would not rule out participating in a similar event in the future, adding that “I hope that no one ever has to do anything like that again.”
Kenny Rader, an adherent of the QAnon conspiracy theory who was convicted and served three months in jail for participating in the Capitol Riot, said that the pardon is a statement he was "wrongful conviction and prosecution," and said he plans to join a $50 billion class action lawsuit against the DOJ.
“I'm not gonna settle for anything other under seven digits. I want to be compensated because I went through some hell. I know the truth about Trump and what's really going on, and one day, the world will too,” Rader said.
Felicia Konold, who marched with members of the Proud Boys to the Capitol and later bragged about being recruited by the Proud Boys, served 45-days in jail for participating in the Capitol Riot. Konold said she was in shock about the pardon, because it had been a "long four years of being targeted, tortured, abused, it doesn’t seem real.”
Matthew Beddingfield, a self-proclaimed White Nationalists was sentenced to 38-months in prison for participating in the Capitol Riot, said he does not regret his actions. Beddingfield said that Trump's pardons would end “grave national injustice,” and that "White people are losing power in America and it would seem the government (is) backing people who aren’t white and trying to hoist them above white people."
Took your life from you??? How long were you LOCKED UP???
Hummm…
Go ahead Enrique you douche! Fire the first shot and see what happens.