U.S. Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly rebuked President Donald Trump's blanket pardons for those convicted of crimes during the January 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol in a new court filing.
Newsweek reached out to the White House via email and Judge Kollar-Kotelly via the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia for comment.
Why It Matters
Trump issued sweeping pardons for those convicted of crimes during the January 6 riot, when a group of his supporters violently protested the 2020 presidential election results. The pardons were among his first official acts upon returning to the White House on Monday and fulfilled a key campaign promise.
But he is facing scrutiny over some of these pardons, particularly pertaining to those who have been convicted of violent crimes during the riot. Five police officers died in the weeks after the riot. One died of a stroke following injuries sustained at the scene, while four others died by suicide.
What To Know
Kollar-Kotelly signed an order to dismiss charges against January 6 defendant Dominic Box, who was initially convicted on felony civil disobedience charges and four misdemeanors.
In the order, Kollar-Kotelly offered a sharp rebuke of Trump's pardons, writing that they do not "change the truth" of what happened during the riot.
"Dismissal of charges, pardons after convictions, and commutations of sentences will not change the truth of what happened on January 6, 2021," she wrote.
The January 6 riot will be preserved through "thousands of contemporaneous videos, transcripts of trials, jury verdicts, and judicial opinions analyzing and recounting the evidence through a neutral lens," she wrote.
"Those records are immutable and represent the truth, no matter how the events of January 6 are described by those charged or their allies," she continued.
The judge also praised the "heroism" of police officers who responded to the U.S. Capitol.
"For hours, those officers were aggressively confronted and violently assaulted. More than 140 officers were injured. Others tragically passed away as a result of the events of that day. But law enforcement did not falter. Standing with bear spray streaming down their faces, those officers carried out their duty to protect," she wrote.
Who Is Judge Kollar-Kotelly?
Kollar-Kotelly was first appointed to the Superior Court of the District of Columbia by the late President Ronald Reagan in 1984 and appointed to the U.S. District Court by former President Bill Clinton in 1997.
She graduated from the Catholic University of America and later received a law degree from the Columbus School of Law.
She has sparred with Trump before. In 2018, she blocked his ban on transgender individuals from serving in the U.S. military. She has also been critical of Trump's alleged role in the January 6 riot, saying that a separate defendant "followed then-President Trump's instructions" when participating in it.
"Every step of the way, from the western boundary of Capitol grounds, to the West Lawn, to the Upper West Terrace, to the interior of the Capitol itself, she saw sign after sign that her presence was unlawful. Nevertheless, heeding the call of former President Trump, she continued onwards to 'stop the steal,'" she wrote in one filing, reported Axios.
What People Are Saying
The family of Brian Sicknick, an officer who died following January 6, said in a statement to CBS News: "The pardons are intended to 'end a grave national injustice that has been perpetrated on the American people, and to begin the process of national reconciliation.' It is up to the American people to decide whether this purpose will be achieved, involving far more serious questions than how our family feels about the death of a son and brother, and the undoing of the justice that was previously determined by the Court's sentencing of Brian's assailants."
President Donald Trump, in a statement announcing the January 6 pardons: "This proclamation ends a grave national injustice that has been perpetrated upon the American people over the last four years and begins a process of national reconciliation."
What Happens Next
The pardons issued by Trump mean that anyone convicted of crimes during the riot would be released from prison. Meanwhile, the GOP-led House of Representatives established a new committee to probe the riot, Politico reported.
English (US) ·