The Jan. 6 pardons are Trump 2.0

(RNS) — This is what I have been telling myself, and my friends, about Donald Trump’s unfolding presidency.

Something outrageous will happen, on the average of once a week. You will need to save your energy. You cannot go to DEFCON 3 constantly over everything. This is a marathon, and we need to train for it.

I still believe that. But it did not take very long to discern what America during Trump 2.0 will look like.

They were still removing the chairs from the Capitol rotunda after the inauguration when it happened.

It is about the ghosts of Jan. 6, 2021 — the day rioters assaulted the Capitol in an effort to overturn the results of the 2020 election. They invaded the Capitol building itself; they sought to harm Nancy Pelosi; they erected gallows and called for the hanging of Mike Pence; they assaulted 140 law enforcement officers.

Please read that again: 140 law enforcement officers. Every member of the police force in America should be enraged.

Trump has called that dark day in American history a “day of love” and the people arrested afterward “political prisoners” and “hostages.” In one of his first official acts since being sworn in on Monday (Jan. 20), President Trump issued sweeping pardons to nearly all of the 1,600 rioters charged with storming the Capitol, and commuted the sentences of several others.

More than 170 people have been accused of using a deadly or dangerous weapon, such as a fire extinguisher or bear spray, against police officers, prosecutors have said.

That is all you need to know about the new America. It will become an America in which white right-wing rioters can create mayhem without fear of penalty; an America that actually honors right-wing mayhem; an America that actually has no respect for law enforcement officers, as long as they are assaulted for the “right” political reasons; an America that will permit and applaud citizen militias; an America that will tolerate political violence (of which Trump was, himself, a victim, with two assassination attempts); an America without the rule of law.

In the words of Bill Kristol:

… The pardons of the January 6th defendants, who had sought to prevent the peaceful transfer of power and overturn the election result, were a fundamental assault on the Constitution and the rule of law. … The pardons are an invitation to further assaults against the rule of law. … It is the empowerment of pro-Trump vigilantes by offering the promise of pardons if the legal system gets in the way.

You might ask: What does this have to do with Jews, or Judaism? Here is the answer: Wherever Jews have lived, they have invested themselves in the rule of law. Jeremiah told the Judeans exiled in Babylonia: “And seek the welfare of the city to which I have exiled you and pray to GOD in its behalf; for in its prosperity you shall prosper.” (Jeremiah 29:7). It actually says those exiles should seek the shalom of the city, which we might choose to translate as “peace” and “wholeness,” as well as welfare.

Take a look at Jewish history and this is what you will discover: It was rarely the kings who sparked anti-Jewish violence; it was usually people much lower in authority, and those who had no authority.

Or, let me put it to you this way: On Jan. 6, 2021, any Jew looking at what was unfolding responded with a visceral, historical memory.

They did not see the assailants as patriots. They saw them as Cossacks.

So, pardoning and commuting the sentences of the rioters is one thing, and bad enough. 

But now, let’s look at one of the people who got clemency.

That would be Enrique Tarrio. He is the former head of the far-right group the Proud Boys. He was serving a 22-year sentence after he was convicted in May 2023 of charges including seditious conspiracy. Prosecutors had recommended a sentence of 33 years in prison.

Tarrio was not in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 6 because he had been arrested on unrelated charges a day earlier. Still, the Justice Department alleged his planning before the attack, support for the rioters during the assault and comments afterward were sufficient to charge him with seditious conspiracy. 

“Make no mistake, we did this,” Tarrio wrote on social media during the riot. 

This is what the Department of Justice said about the role of the Proud Boys and the Oath Keepers, another right-wing group: “No organization put more boots on the ground at the Capitol on January 6, 2021 than the Proud Boys, and they were at the forefront of every major breach of the Capitol’s defenses, leading the on-the-ground efforts to storm the seat of government,” said U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves for the District of Columbia.

Remember the guy in the Camp Auschwitz sweatshirt?

Robert Keith Packer at the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol insurrection wearing a Camp Auschwitz shirt. (Court documents)

That was Robert Keith Packer. He got a 75-day sentence. He was pardoned, as well.

Jewish ears should perk up when they hear the term “Proud Boys.”

To quote the ADL:

The Proud Boys are a right-wing extremist group whose members embrace misogynistic, anti-immigrant, Islamophobic and anti-LGBTQ+ ideologies, among other forms of hate, including antisemitism and white supremacy. Founded in 2016, the group rose to prominence in 2017 as an organization of self-described “Western chauvinists” and established itself as a dominant force in far-right circles …

During President Trump’s first term, Proud Boys were regulars at far-right demonstrations, Trump rallies and Republican events, forging ties with the Republican political establishment and at times acting as a volunteer security force for activists, politicians and members of Trump’s camp. They also dabbled in associations with white supremacist groups and events. Several members attended the deadly 2017 Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, organized in large part by white supremacist and former Proud Boy Jason Kessler.

So, let my fellow Jews note: President Trump freed those who were responsible for a violent attack on the Holy of Holies of American democracy. He freed a leader of a gang of overt antisemites.

I have been thinking about filmmaker David Lynch, who died recently. Lynch’s work, including “Blue Velvet,” “Mulholland Drive” and “Twin Peaks.” was famous for its eerie, often surrealistic depiction of the darkness that lies just beneath the bright colors of the middle-class American dream.

Jan. 6 represented that darkness. It was a Lynchean view of America.

There will be many times, over the next four years, that we will want to sing along with David Bowie and Pat Metheny: “This is not America.”

But for those who agree with David Bowie, who do not want this version or vision of America — it will take concerted action and small efforts, many of them on the local and state levels. It will take vigorous pushback.

Mostly, it will require patience, diligence and stamina.

It could be a very long four years.