“A betrayal, a mockery”: the police express their indignation at the pardons granted by Trump on January 6

When inmates are released from federal prison, the Justice Department calls their victims to inform them that the defendant who attacked them is now free. On Tuesday, the phones of the U.S. Capitol Police and Washington police were buzzing nonstop.

For Aquilino A. Gonell, a former Capitol Police sergeant, the robocalls began Monday evening and continued Tuesday morning after President Trump granted a legal reprieve to all of the nearly 1,600 defendants, including those convicted of violent crimes, in January. .6 2021, attack on the Capitol.

Between 7:03 a.m. and 9:37 a.m., Mr. Gonell received nine calls from the Department of Justice regarding the release of detainees.

Mr Gonell, who was assaulted in the attack and retired due to the injuries he suffered, was as outraged and distraught as he was shortly after the violence.

“It is a miscarriage of justice, a betrayal, a mockery and a desecration of the men and women who risked their lives to defend our democracy,” he said of the nearly 1,600 pardons and 14 commutations.

More than 150 police officers from both agencies were injured when a pro-Trump mob stormed the Capitol four years ago. Some were hit in the head with baseball bats, flagpoles and pipes. One was knocked unconscious after rioters used a metal barrier to push her down as they marched toward the building.