Trump Wrong to Pardon Worst Jan. 6 Offenders, Says Ex-VP Mike Pence

Former Vice President Mike Pence said Wednesday that while he has “no qualms” about President Donald Trump pardoning nonviolent Jan. 6 protesters, his former boss “absolutely got it wrong” by pardoning those who assaulted police officers, John L. Micek reported for MassLive.

Pence was in the Senate chamber as lawmakers met to certify former President Joe Biden’s victory over Trump in the 2020 presidential election. (Photo: Mike Pence Facebook)

“People that violated the Capitol, who assaulted police officers, should never have been pardoned,” Pence said during an appearance at the Edward M. Kennedy Institute for the U.S. Senate in Dorchester.

“It sent the wrong message.”

Pence, who faced death threats from the mob that sacked the Capitol on January 6, 2021, was in the Senate chamber as lawmakers met to certify former President Joe Biden’s victory over Trump in the 2020 presidential election.

Speaking with Meghan McCain, the daughter of U.S. Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., who moderated the event, Pence said the venue’s replica Senate chamber brought back memories of that tragic day.

Trump went ahead with the pardons despite polling showing that even some of his supporters had reservations.

Trump has called the people who stormed the Capitol “patriots,” and in his pardon proclamation earlier this year, he referred to the Jan. 6 investigations and prosecutions as a “national injustice,” NPR reported.