Capitol riot

Trump's Jan. 6 pardons spark varied reactions

One Massachusetts woman who received a pardon from President Donald Trump praised the move while lawmakers, police unions and others have criticized it

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Four years removed from Jan. 6, Sue Ianni is one of many receiving a pardon from President Donald Trump.

"We anticipated that he was going to take that action,” said Ianni, a former town official in Natick, Massachusetts. "Promises made, promises kept."

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The commander in chief used his newly restored powers to grant 1,500 pardons and commute the sentences of 14 others who were involved in what some have described as protest while others contend it was an insurrection.

Videos of people climbing in through broken windows and clashing with police officers are fresh in the minds of many.

Law enforcement unions called the pardons "deeply discouraging," while leaders on Capitol Hill are wrestling with the decision.

Senators reacted to an executive order by President Trump that pardoned over 1,500 people charged with crimes in connection with the attack on the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.

"It's a golden age for lawlessness and lawbreakers," said Democratic Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said.

"I think [the pardons] were absolutely justified," said Republican Sen. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin.

"I don't know what this says about the rule of law," said Sen. Mark Warner, a Democrat from Virginia.

"It was a weaponization of the Justice Department," Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson said.

Ianni she says she sees a clear picture of the events that unfolded.

"There's selective footage to make us look bad, of some people who might have been a little more rowdy," said Ianni.

She argues that her own guilty plea and 15-day prison sentence were born out of an unfair investigation.

"Your neighbors all think you're a terrorist, when you're not," said Ianni. "You didn't go down there for that, you didn't behave like one."

Of the 1,500 pardons issued, more than a dozen were to defendants in Massachusetts.

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