By Daniel Nardini
Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker had put a block on all those who had participated in the January 6, 2021, insurrection of the U.S. Capital Building from ever having state jobs. Pritzker stated that such people who had attempted to overthrow the government should not hold state government jobs. I think this is completely appropriate. The sad truth is that so many of these people were given a blanket pardon by U.S. President Donald Trump regardless of their character or their prior criminal records being taken into consideration. Trump just simply pardoned them all. Some of the insurrectionists are challenging being banned from state jobs in Illinois, but it is unlikely that these people will win in state courts. Realistically, what happened on January 6, 2021, was a very violent episode where Trump exhorted some of his most fanatical followers to go and overturn by any means the certification of the 2020 presidential election. These violent acts included kidnapping, harming and maybe even killing members of the U.S. Congress as well as then U.S. Vice-president Mike Pence.
Nothing like this has ever taken place in American history, and one man was behind this—Donald Trump. The man who master-minded this shocking episode has never been held accountable for it. He may never be. But what about some of the people who willingly participated in this? Have they been free of crimes since that time? The answer is no. I will give a few examples. Jeremy Brown, a former Green Beret, is still in prison for illegally stocking weapons and explosives even though he was pardoned and Trump authorities have ordered his release. Daniel Ball, another insurrectionist, was re-arrested on gun charges. He has a long history of domestic violence and battery. Insurrectionist Andrew Taake is wanted in Texas for soliciting a minor. Taylor Taranto, still another insurrectionist, had been arrested for stalking former U.S. President Barack Obama’s home. And I could go on and on. Even for those insurrectionists who have “returned to normal life” and have committed no crimes since, in my mind this does not excuse the crime of attempting to overthrow the government.
In my mind, there is only one insurrectionist who should be forgiven for what she did, and that is Pamela Hemphill. She did not accept Trump’s pardon, and therefore is among those in my mind who is truly repentant for her actions. When Trump pardoned the insurrectionists, a lot of the former Washington, D.C. Capital Police resigned rather than deal with Trump as being president again. I cannot blame them—they had gone through a lot of trauma and to have the same man who had caused their pain back in power was too much for many of them. Today, we live in dark and troubled times where the world seems to have gone topsy turvy. The politics of the present is a sad commentary when these people who broke so many federal and even state laws are being hailed as “heroes.” They should not be hailed as anything except as the scum of this country. For those insurrectionists who were either in law enforcement or served in the U.S. armed forces, they have broken their oaths to the U.S. Constitution and their duty to defend the country from enemies foreign and domestic. Whoever they are, I hope they can live with their decision for trying to dispose of the rule of law. But the real insurrectionist, the one who initiated this terrible episode, now sits in the White House.
The January 6th Insurrectionists: Scum of the United States
By Daniel Nardini
Nothing like this has ever taken place in American history, and one man was behind this—Donald Trump. The man who master-minded this shocking episode has never been held accountable for it. He may never be. But what about some of the people who willingly participated in this? Have they been free of crimes since that time? The answer is no. I will give a few examples. Jeremy Brown, a former Green Beret, is still in prison for illegally stocking weapons and explosives even though he was pardoned and Trump authorities have ordered his release. Daniel Ball, another insurrectionist, was re-arrested on gun charges. He has a long history of domestic violence and battery. Insurrectionist Andrew Taake is wanted in Texas for soliciting a minor. Taylor Taranto, still another insurrectionist, had been arrested for stalking former U.S. President Barack Obama’s home. And I could go on and on. Even for those insurrectionists who have “returned to normal life” and have committed no crimes since, in my mind this does not excuse the crime of attempting to overthrow the government.
In my mind, there is only one insurrectionist who should be forgiven for what she did, and that is Pamela Hemphill. She did not accept Trump’s pardon, and therefore is among those in my mind who is truly repentant for her actions. When Trump pardoned the insurrectionists, a lot of the former Washington, D.C. Capital Police resigned rather than deal with Trump as being president again. I cannot blame them—they had gone through a lot of trauma and to have the same man who had caused their pain back in power was too much for many of them. Today, we live in dark and troubled times where the world seems to have gone topsy turvy. The politics of the present is a sad commentary when these people who broke so many federal and even state laws are being hailed as “heroes.” They should not be hailed as anything except as the scum of this country. For those insurrectionists who were either in law enforcement or served in the U.S. armed forces, they have broken their oaths to the U.S. Constitution and their duty to defend the country from enemies foreign and domestic. Whoever they are, I hope they can live with their decision for trying to dispose of the rule of law. But the real insurrectionist, the one who initiated this terrible episode, now sits in the White House.