Sen. Tom Tillis Condemns January 6 Violence... (UPDATED)
The GOP whitewashes Trump’s sweeping clemency that undermines justice and law enforcement, yet claim to be the “law and order” party.
On January 6, 2021, a mob stormed the Capitol to stop the peaceful transfer of power after Trump lost the election. They broke windows, pushed through barriers, and attacked police officers with bats, flagpoles, and other weapons. Law enforcement officers died1. Many were injured. Law enforcement officers fought to protect the Capitol and everyone inside. It was a dark day for America.
Donald Trump’s decision yesterday to pardon over 1,500 people involved in the January 6 Capitol attack is a big deal. Among those pardoned were more than 200 violent offenders who attacked police officers2.
Senator Tom Tillis of North Carolina was there that day. He said he walked past injured officers and saw the damage. Tillis said, “I saw Capitol police officers bleeding, bruised, and I saw damage to a certain extent as we were exiting to call those people patriots is not in my lexicon.”3
Tillis has been clear about what happened. He said people who call the rioters “patriots” are wrong. He also said calling them “hostages” or “political prisoners” is like calling drug dealers “unlicensed pharmacists.” Tillis said, “At the end of the day, they are January 6 convicts to me.”4
During the confirmation hearing of Pam Bondi for Attorney General, Tillis addressed the possibility of pardons for violent offenders. He said, “...January 6, a lot of people are going to say you're going to have a rubber stamp for letting people have pardons or recommending a pardon for people who did violence to law enforcement… I have to believe, as a member in the last... I was the last member out of the Senate on January the sixth. I walked past a lot of law enforcement officers who were injured. I find it hard to believe that the President of the United States… would look at facts that were used to convict the violent people on January the 6th and say it was just an intemperate moment.”5
But here’s the problem: Even though Tillis talks tough, it is all BS. Tillis hasn’t pushed back. Instead, he has stayed quiet. That silence matters. Words without action don’t mean much.
Recently, Tillis broke his silence and criticized Trump’s sweeping pardons. In a public statement, he said, “There’s no way to justify pardoning people who brutally attacked law enforcement officers, vandalized the Capitol, and threatened our democracy. These pardons undermine the sacrifices made by police that day and send the wrong message about accountability.” His words reflect the growing concern among some Republicans about Trump’s actions, but they also highlight the GOP’s struggle to hold its leader accountable.
Trump’s pardons erase years of work by law enforcement and the Department of Justice. These were the largest criminal investigations in U.S. history6. They showed us the truth about January 6: It wasn’t a peaceful protest. It was an attack on democracy. By pardoning these people, Trump is rewriting history. He’s saying that if you commit violence for him, it’s not a crime.
This isn’t just about politics. It’s about right and wrong. The Republican Party likes to call itself the “law and order” party7. But how can they claim that when their leader lets criminals walk free? What does it say to police officers who risked their lives that day? What does it say to regular Americans who believe in fairness and justice?
Some Republicans, like Tillis, know this is wrong. They’ve said so. But their actions don’t match their words. They haven’t taken a stand against Trump. They haven’t defended the officers or the rule of law. Instead, they’ve let Trump take over their party. They support election deniers like Pat Bondi8 for Attorney General or Kash Patel9 (the nominee to be the Director of the FBI who also has an enemies list10). Heck, Tillis is even hanging out with Patel11!
In so doing, they have cozied up themselves to the Proud Boys and the Oath Keepers12.
Trump’s pardons send a dangerous message. They tell his supporters that violence is okay if it’s for him. They tell law enforcement that their sacrifices don’t matter. And they tell the rest of us that the rules aren’t the same for everyone. This isn’t just unfair—it’s un-American.
Tillis said, “Police officers could potentially be assaulted and there’s no consequence… I think that it raises, I think, a legitimate safety question here on Capitol Hill.”13
If Republicans want to be the party of law and order, they need to prove it. They need to speak out against Trump’s pardons. They did before the pardons14, now? <Crickets> They need to stand up for the truth. Most importantly, they need to stand up for the police officers who put their lives on the line that day. Anything less is a betrayal of our democracy and our values.
But we too, citizens of North Carolina and citizens of the United States. We need to make our voices heard that this was wrong. We must promise Senator Tillis that we won’t forget.
Write him: https://www.tillis.senate.gov/
Primary or no primary in 202615, we won’t forget these pardons and his capitulation in November 202616…
UPDATE: Text in italics has been updated to include that Tillis recently spoke out and opposed the pardons17.
https://www.factcheck.org/2021/11/how-many-died-as-a-result-of-capitol-riot/
https://apnews.com/article/capitol-jan-6-pardons-trump-justice-department-8ce8b2a8f8cb602d5eaf85ac7b969606
https://www.publicradioeast.org/pre-news/2024-03-29/gop-sen-tillis-criticizes-trump-over-comments-calling-jan-6-rioters-patriots
https://www.mediaite.com/tv/joe-scarborough-plays-back-capitol-riot-footage-while-reading-quotes-from-top-republicans-condemning-jan-6/
https://bit.ly/4h4ZnR6 (YouTube)
https://www.justice.gov/usao-dc/36-months-jan-6-attack-capitol-0
https://time.com/7001576/law-and-order-rnc/
https://www.judiciary.senate.gov/press/dem/releases/election-denier-pam-bondi-wont-protect-our-sacred-right-to-vote
https://www.cnn.com/2024/12/09/politics/kash-patel-government-lawyer-fbi/index.html
https://newrepublic.com/article/188946/kash-patel-fbi-enemies-list
https://thedispatch.com/article/gop-primaries-senate-patel-nomination/
https://apnews.com/article/capitol-riot-trump-pardons-jan-6-f6e23bcd84eaed672318c88f05286767
https://bit.ly/3E5oAfC (YouTube)
https://protectdemocracy.org/work/opposition-to-pardoning-violent-january-6-offenders-persists/
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/sen-thom-tillis-says-threats-primary-gop-senators-oppose-trumps-cabine-rcna184295
https://www.newsobserver.com/news/politics-government/article297315994.html
https://www.rawstory.com/thom-tillis-2670902792/