In a matter of hours after being sworn into office, President Donald Trump delivered on a promise in a way that even high-level Republicans didn’t see coming. Trump granted sweeping pardons for more than 1,500 January 6 defendants. In this episode of Radio Atlantic, Hanna encounters Oath Keeper leader Stewart Rhodes, who is walking free after a commutation from Trump, and she talks with the families of two men who were convicted of crimes for their actions on January 6, and are now newly freed. Get more from your favorite Atlantic voices when you subscribe. You’ll enjoy unlimited access to Pulitzer-winning journalism, from clear-eyed analysis and insight on breaking news to fascinating explorations of our world. Subscribe today at TheAtlantic.com/podsub. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Chapter 1: Who was pardoned by President Trump?
There is a whole other way that these pardons could have rolled out. A little more than a week before inauguration, Vice President J.D. Vance made it clear to Fox News that he wasn't expecting blanket pardons.
If you committed violence on that day, obviously you shouldn't be pardoned. And there's a little bit of a gray area there, but we're very much committed to seeing the equal administration of law.
During the transition, I spoke with Republican lawyers who imagined there might be some kind of review board, like maybe a Justice Department committee that would evaluate cases such as Taylor's. Taylor was not among the several hundred convicted solely of misdemeanors, such as trespassing or disorderly conduct. But also, he was not among the small handful convicted of seditious conspiracy.
His assault charge hung on the fact that he was yelling into his bullhorn, urging a crowd to push a barricade into a row of cops, all captured on video.
One foot! One, two, three, go! One foot! Whoo!
And under the J.D. Vance scenario, there would have been qualified lawyers debating in a room about degrees of assault and what length of sentence they merit. But instead, Trump chose to go with a blanket pardon, which sounds uncomplicated, but actually brings maximum chaos. Tuesday night, I was walking down my own street past a house that I know well.
It's kind of a safe house for January Sixers. Mickey Witthoff lives there. She's the mother of Ashley Babbitt, who was killed at the Capitol that day. So does Nicole Reffet, whose husband Guy was sentenced to over seven years for bringing a gun to the Capitol. Occasionally, a young January Sixer named Brandon Fellows stays there, too.
My partner Lauren Ober and I got to know the people in that house last year when we made an Atlantic podcast about it called We Live Here Now. I've walked by their house hundreds of times. But when I walked past the house on Tuesday in freezing weather, I saw Brandon outside wearing an ice jacket as in immigration and customs enforcement. This is his version of a sartorial troll.
Oh, so what's going on? I guess I don't even know the basics of what's going on.
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Chapter 2: What were the consequences of the January 6 pardons?
But for a whole crew of other people involved in January 6th, these pardons represent a reversal of justice. January 6th did not require delicate forensics. It has to be one of the most well-documented crimes in modern history. There are tens of thousands of hours of video showing rioters beating up police with whatever tools are at hand.
At least five people died for reasons that are in some way related to the insurrection. Some 140 police officers were injured, and many could never work again. On Wednesday, retired officer Michael Fanone had choice words for Rhodes, which he expressed live on CNN.
Yeah, I mean, this is what I would say to Stuart Rhodes. Go f*** yourself.
Okay. You're a liar. We didn't obviously get to beep that word out, but obviously... Fanone said he's worried for his safety and that of his family.
The judge who sentenced Taylor Johnitakis, Judge Royce Lamberth, wrote a letter in connection with the sentencing. He wrote, "'Political violence rots republics. Therefore, January 6th must not become a precedent for further violence against political opponents or governmental institutions.'" Lamberth is 81. His wife died a few months ago.
He had a handful of new January 6 cases on his docket, but of course they've disappeared. In that sentencing letter, he continued, this is not normal. We tried to reach him to talk about the pardons, by the way, but he wasn't ready to talk about them yet.
And we'll continue to give him that voice. My husband's being processed out of Oklahoma right now. Can't wait to see that man. He will be here in D.C. tomorrow. And you know what? We're getting freedom, baby. That's right. We're getting freedom. We are getting freedom. And that's absolutely right.
At the Tuesday night rally, Nicole got a call from Guy. He was out, on the road, headed towards the airport.
He's in the car. He's in the car. He's in a car. In a car.
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