Chuck Douglas is a former Republican congressman from New Hampshire and a former New Hampshire Supreme Court associate justice. He lives in Pembroke.
The words in the headline may not have come from President Donald Trump’s lips, but they clearly flowed from his Sharpie as he pardoned nearly 1,600 criminal defendants who took part in the Jan. 6 insurrection.
The day after the assault on the Capitol that embarrassed our nation, Trump said that those who engaged in “acts of violence…do not represent our country” and promised that they “will pay.” But who were they? Disinformation first came from Fox News when Laura Ingraham said “antifa sympathizers” were “sprinkled throughout the crowd.” Tucker Carlson, not to be outdone, claimed the FBI orchestrated the riots. Then, Congressman Andrew Clyde, a Georgia Republican, said Jan. 6 was just like a “normal tourist visit” to the building.
It wasn’t long before Donald Trump switched gears and the rioters became “patriots and hostages.” By Oct. 16, 2024, he described Jan. 6 as “a day of love” at a Univision forum. But was it a day of love for the men and women in blue?
“They almost ‘loved’ me to death,” former Capitol Police Sgt. Aquilino Gonell — whom Trump supporters repeatedly assaulted on Jan. 6 — told NBC News on Oct. 17, 2024. “I guess a lot of people were hugging and kissing me. I should be thankful, I guess, according to him, because I lost my career, because I lost my health, I lost my financial stability and my mental health paid a price.”
Gonell asked further: “Are you serious? A day of love when more than 140 officers were injured, people lost their careers, people lost their lives?”
In late November of last year, Trump assured us he would be “going case-by-case” to separate violent and nonviolent defendants to pardon. Yet, his blanket pardon includes more than a third of the 1,600 who were “assaulting, resisting or impeding law enforcement,” according to the Department of Justice.
As for those who attacked the police, Trump said on Jan. 21 that “they were very minor incidents.” Were they?
Daniel Joseph “DJ” Rodriguez, who was sentenced to 151 months in prison, was seen on video deploying an “electroshock weapon” against a policeman who was dragged out of the defensive line by “plunging it into the officer’s neck.” Isreal James Esterday, who was sentenced to 30 months, blasted a cop “in the face with pepper spray at point-blank range.” The officer collapsed and temporarily lost consciousness.
Curtis Davis, who was sentenced to 24 months, punched two police officers in the head. That night he filmed a video of his fist, bragging that “them knuckles right there, from one of those faces at the Capitol.” Ronald Colton McAbee, who was sentenced to 70 months, hit a cop while wearing “reinforced brass knuckle gloves,” and he held another cop down on the ground as “other rioters assailed the officer for over 20 seconds,” causing a concussion.
Many readers may remember Daniel Hodges, the Metropolitan Police Officer who was crushed and injured in a doorway in the Capitol by Patrick McCaughey and Steven Cappucio. Hodges bled from his mouth and got a concussion from the attack.
These hardly qualify as “very minor incidents.” That is why the largest police union in the country, the Fraternal Order of Police, which endorsed Trump in all three of his races said that “when perpetrators of crimes, especially serious crimes, are not held fully accountable, it sends a dangerous message that the consequences for attacking law enforcement are not severe, potentially emboldening others to commit similar acts of violence.”
Imagine the blow-back here in New Hampshire if the governor pardoned scores of defendants who assaulted our state or local police officers. But, when it comes to Trump, there is a deafening silence from the law-and-order crowd. For those driving around with both a “Back the Blue” flag bumper sticker and a Trump 2024 bumper sticker, at least do us a favor: Peel one off so you don’t advertise yourself as a 100% hypocrite.