Blue Press Journal

Tag: DC crime

  • The Dark Consequences of Trump’s January 6th Pardons: A Threat to Public Safety in Light of National Guard Deployments

    Blue Press Journal – On January 20, 2025, President Donald Trump issued pardons and commutations for over 1,500 people charged or convicted for their involvement in the January 6, 2021, Capitol riot. This move was met with widespread criticism, with many viewing it as an attempt to rewrite the history of the insurrection and a betrayal of the law enforcement officers who were assaulted that day. As it turns out, the concerns of critics have been validated, with at least 10 pardoned individuals already rearrested, charged, or sentenced for other crimes.

    According to NPR, these crimes include plotting the murder of FBI agents, child sexual assault, possession of child sexual abuse material, and reckless homicide while driving drunk. The list of offenders is disturbing, to say the least. For example, Daniel Ball, who attacked police officers with an explosive device during the insurrection, was rearrested days after Trump’s pardon for illegal gun possession, given his felony record of domestic violence and strangulation. Theodore Middendorf, who pleaded guilty to destruction of government property on January 6th, was previously sentenced to 19 years in prison for sexually assaulting a seven-year-old and remains in prison.

    As Senator Chuck Schumer noted, “These pardons are a slap in the face to the law enforcement officers who were brutally attacked on January 6th. It’s a betrayal of the trust that the American people have placed in the justice system.” The move has also been criticized by some Republicans, who point out that the pardons included many who committed violent crimes. “This is not what the American people expect from their President,” said Senator Mitt Romney. “We need to uphold the rule of law and ensure that those who break it are held accountable.”

    The rearrests of these individuals underscore the public safety threats posed by the pardoned insurrectionists. As Senator Dick Durbin stated, “The fact that these individuals have been rearrested for such heinous crimes is a clear indication that they pose a significant threat to our communities. We cannot afford to have them on our streets.” Trump’s comments on the matter have been tone-deaf, overlooking the role that the January 6 defendants’ prior criminal records played in sentencing. Federal judges take that criminal history into account when deciding a criminal defendant’s sentence, and it is clear that these individuals have a propensity for violence and lawlessness.

    The pardons handed out by President Trump have recklessly endangered the American public. The rearrests of these individuals serve as a shocking testament to the so-called “Law and Order President,” who has unleashed criminals on our streets, putting at risk the very citizens he vowed to defend. As we look ahead, his audacious threat to deploy the National Guard in American cities forces us to confront the reality that he’s released more dangerous offenders than he’s ever boasted catching about in Washington, DC.

    Sources:

    • NPR: “At Least 10 January 6th Insurrectionists Pardoned By President Trump Have Already Been Rearrested”
    • The New York Times: “Trump’s Pardons of January 6th Defendants Draw Criticism from Law Enforcement and Republicans”
    • CNN: “Trump’s Pardons of January 6th Defendants Spark Outrage and Concerns about Public Safety”

  • White House Flip-Flops on DC Crime Numbers

    In a stunning reversal, the White House is now embracing crime statistics in Washington D.C. that it previously dismissed as “fake” and “manipulated”. The sudden change of heart comes after President Donald Trump took control of the city’s police force, and the same data that was once deemed untrustworthy is now being touted as a success story for the administration.

    During a press briefing on Thursday, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt highlighted the decline in crime rates, citing a 19% drop in total crime and a 30% drop in violent crime. She also pointed to significant reductions in homicides, robberies, car thefts, and assaults. However, this newfound enthusiasm for the data is at odds with the administration’s previous stance.

    Just months ago, President Trump was quick to discredit the same statistics, claiming that they were fabricated and that the city was actually becoming more violent. The trend of declining crime rates, which began before Trump’s takeover of the police force, was seen as inconvenient to his narrative of a city in chaos. National Democrats were swift to point out that violent crime had already fallen to a 30-year low, contradicting the President’s claims of a “violent hellscape”.

    The Council on Criminal Justice, a non-partisan think tank, has confirmed that crime rates in D.C. have indeed been declining since 2023, mirroring trends in other cities. However, the capital still experiences more violence than most cities. The White House’s sudden about-face on the data has raised eyebrows, with critics accusing the administration of cherry-picking statistics to suit its own agenda.

    This flip-flop is the latest example of the Trump administration’s selective use of data to advance its own narrative. By embracing statistics that were once deemed false, the White House is undermining its own credibility and raising questions about its commitment to accuracy and transparency. As the city continues to grapple with crime and public safety issues, it remains to be seen whether the administration’s newfound enthusiasm for the data will translate into meaningful policy initiatives or simply serve as a propaganda tool.