It's been more than a year since the Capitol Riot pardons... how are they affecting American today?

On January 6th, 2021, over ten thousand right-wing extremists rioted at the Capitol Building in Washington DC, attempting to overthrow the Capitol and restore then-former President Donald Trump back to his position of power. Over 1200 capitol police officers, including members of the National Guard sent by the Pentagon, helped to desist the uprising, but not before five Americans died and approximately two hundred sustained major injuries.

One month ago, four years after the riots, Trump used his newfound power as president re-elect to pardon over 1,000 people who were charged with criminal felonies for their participation in the riots. By claiming that those prosecuted were “hostages” who posed “zero threat” on January 6th, Trump forgave the offenses and commuted (shortened) the sentences of many who either piloted or were directly involved in the movement, brewing widespread disapproval from a majority of Americans.

And this isn’t the first time that a president has used their power in office for personal gain. In just the previous term, former President Joe Biden pardoned his son Hunter Biden from his federal convictions after he violated several national felony gun charges meant to prevent drug addicts, like him, from possessing firearms. In September of 1974, former President Gerald Ford pardoned the previous term’s President Richard Nixon despite his blatant violation of national law in the infamous Watergate Scandal, where Nixon’s committee endeavored to plant listening devices to collect secret information from the headquarters of the Democratic National Committee.

More and more often, we see an unjust power dynamic in which people in positions of power, especially presidents, use the abilities granted to them to benefit themselves and their own selfish agendas while neglecting the needs of the general population which they serve. If America continues in this fashion, where politics and personal agenda render useless the same ground rules and laws that the rest of the country agreed to when landing on American soil, then we breach into an increasingly more polarized state of union.

Specifically, it is quintessential that presidents consider the impacts of their actions on all people, not just members of their own parties. Many innocent Americans were caught in the crossfire of the January 6th protests and unfortunately lost their lives either immediately or in the days after. Whether this collateral damage was intentional or not, the right people must be held responsible for these consequences. Additionally, the riots directly contributed to 3 million dollars of property damages, with only 15% of the money needed to cover such expenses withdrawn from protestor pockets as of the middle of last year. If extremists adopt the impression that anything they do, no matter how violent or terrorizing, can be exempt from punishment so long as they are doing it in support of the right group of people, then we lose all sense of control over the general public and descend into lawlessness.

So what, then, is the solution to pull America away from all of this and pave a brighter future for us? It’s simple. We need to restrict the power of a presidential pardon. The power to receive clemency, or be pardoned by a figure of political authority, dates back to 1795 when the first president George Washington provided amnesty to those who engaged in the Whiskey Rebellion of Pennsylvania at the time. Since then, like with many outdated articles of the Constitution, sheer obduracy has resulted in the maintaining of old tradition and the refusal of our country to adapt the law for changing times.

So if America wants to move forward- to support the majority who disagree with the ulterior motives of past presidents in their pardoning of convicts and criminals- then reform is demandingly necessary. To at the very least have a second opinion involved- some form of court or justice to corroborate a president’s decision before their pardon is passed- could save us tremendously in the future from tainting our historical records in shades of black and blue.