A single-line bill backed by every Democratic senator condemns Donald Trump’s decision to pardonJanuary 6 rioters who were convicted for assaulting law enforcement officers.
The resolution offered up by Senator Patty Murray simply states “that the Senate disapproves of any pardons for individuals who were found guilty of assaulting Capitol Police officers.”
“It shouldn’t be too much to ask for senators to oppose unconditional pardons for people found guilty of assaulting Capitol Police officers,” Murray said in a statement.
In total, 44 Senate Democrats and the two independents who caucus with Democrats joined the resolution.
Pennsylvania’s John Fetterman was not on the initial list of senators supporting the measure. He office confirmed he joined on Monday morning.
The Independent has requested comment from Fetterman’s office.
As one of his first actions inside the Oval Office in the hours after his inauguration last week, Trump pardoned or commuted the sentences of every convicted rioter who was charged in connection with the January 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol, fuelled by Trump’s ongoing bogus claim that the 2020 presidential election was “rigged” or “stolen” from him.
Trump also ordered the dismissal of hundreds of pending cases.
It shouldn't be too much to ask for senators to oppose unconditional pardons for people found guilty of assaulting Capitol Police officers.
— Senator Patty Murray (@PattyMurray) January 27, 2025
I'm introducing a simple, one-line resolution condemning these pardons & will try to pass it on the Senate floor this week. pic.twitter.com/Sq1XjCCKrc
He commuted the sentence of 14 people convicted on treason-related charges of seditious conspiracy and other crimes, including members of the Oath Keepers and Proud Boys who conspired to break into the halls of Congress.
Nearly 1,600 people were federally charged with crimes connected to the attack, including more than 600 people who were charged with assaulting or resisting an officer. Nearly 200 people were charged with using a deadly or dangerous weapon or causing serious bodily injury to an officer.
Several police unions that endorsed the president issued statements criticizing his pardons for defendants convicted for assaulting officers. Several Republican officials — including Vice President J.D. Vance and Trump’s nominee for attorney general Pam Bondi — also suggested that Trump should not pardon violent rioters before he did.
Fetterman told ABC News last week that he believes “in second chances.”
“Some people are very deserving of a second chance and get a pardon,” he added. “And there’s some that I don’t … agree with. I don’t agree with them. … What I’m saying, though, that, that, pardons I can agree with, some that I don’t. And I think that’s really what it comes down to.”
