Capitol riot

Former Capitol Police officer attacked on Jan. 6 concerned by sweeping pardons

Winston Pingeon, who now lives in Boston, recalls being punched and knocked over while defending the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, and four years later, he's concerned by the message President Donald Trump sent by freeing those involved

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Four years after being attacked on Jan. 6, 2021, a former Capitol Police officer living in Boston is reacting to the release of hundreds charged in the riot.

Hours after taking office Monday, President Donald Trump issued pardons to about 1,500 people and commuted the sentence of 14 others accused of crimes at the Capitol that day.

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Winston Pingeon says the pardons are unbelievable, but not shocking. He's still processing the trauma four years later.

"Before I knew it, the crowd — which was just growing larger by the minute, thousands of people — telling me things like 'President Trump sent us,' and 'We don't want to hurt you, but we will,' 'We're getting inside that building,'" Pingeon recalled.

He left his position 10 months after the attack. A native of Lincoln, Massachusetts, he now lives in Boston.

Pingeon was one of many Capitol Police officers assaulted after responding to the West Front.

"I was punched in the face, knocked on my back," he said. "I remember thinking, 'I just need to protect my gun, because they just stole my baton so easily, if they take my gun from me, that's it, and I could very well lose my life right here on the steps of the U.S. Capitol," he said.

He's concerned about the message Trump's sweeping pardons sends about political violence.

"It just gives permission to violent felons that the crimes that they have committed, and very likely could commit again in the future, is OK and that there's no consequences to their actions, and as long as you're loyal to that one person, that you'll be fine," he said. "It's really scary to think about what's going to happen now in the future."

Winston Pingeon
A piece by Winston Pingeon

Art has helped Pingeon process the event. He has drawn pictures and portraits from that day.

"It's been a way for me to verbalize and tell my story, share my experience, in ways that I couldn't otherwise say," he said.

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