U.S. Sen. Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich., said the pardons President Donald Trump issued Monday for those convicted of crimes during the Jan. 6, 2021, riots at the U.S. Capitol signals that violence committed on his behalf will be “treated as acceptable and potentially pardonable going forward.”
Of all the executive actions Trump issued Monday, “the pardons … stand out,” Slotkin said in a statement, “especially as someone who barricaded herself in her office and watched Capitol Police officers defend our Capitol.”
“In issuing these pardons, the President signaled that those who commit violence on his behalf — even assaulting law enforcement officers — can get away with their crimes.”
Slotkin, who represented Livingston County in Michigan’s 7th Congressional District before assuming her new position as U.S. Senator, said Trump’s pardons create “real, long-term damage to our legal system.”
“(This) puts the rule of law and our democracy at great risk,” Slotkin said. “This isn’t a matter of partisan politics. It’s about law and character.”
