Trump's pardons will embolden Proud Boys, other far-right groups, say experts

Contributing sentiments towards policy:

53% : I don't even have the words to thank President Trump for what he has done for us."
50% : As he took office for a second term on Monday, Trump continued to claim, falsely, that the 2020 election was rigged and that he was the rightful winner.
50% : ""YOU NEED ACCOUNTABILITY"Two police officers who were beaten while trying to hold off the crowd said the pardons were a chilling sign that loyalty to Trump is now more important than the rule of law.
48% : If Trump hadn't given all the Proud Boys clemency, the president would have been "dead to me, and Proud Boys and MAGA and everyone," he said.
42% : "Before the 2020 election, Trump told the Proud Boys - a violent all-male extremist group - to "stand back and stand by."
39% : Norm Pattis, a defense attorney who represents three Proud Boys and the leader of the Oath Keepers, a militia, dismissed the notion that the sweeping clemency would somehow lead to an increase in political violence.
39% : "Some political extremism experts said the pardons would incentivize pro-Trump vigilantes to commit violence under the belief they'll receive legal immunity if they act in the interests of Trump.
38% : Several experts who study extremism said the extraordinary reversal for rioters who committed both violent and nonviolent crimes on Jan. 6, including assaulting police officers and seditious conspiracy, will embolden the Proud Boys and other extremist groups such as white supremacists who have openly called for political violence.
37% : Trump and his Republican allies "have lost their claim to having moral high ground when defending our system of governance, the constitution, and supporting the police," he said.
35% : "The riot began after Trump rallied thousands of supporters to march on the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, as Congress certified Democrat Joe Biden's victory.
30% : Fanone, 44, who spent 20 years as a police officer, said the pardons likely will inspire other supporters to violence, "because they believe Donald Trump will grant them a pardon.
29% : Trump also issued pardons for others, including former Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio, sentenced to 22 years for seditious conspiracy.
27% : In a few pen strokes, Trump reversed the largest U.S. Justice Department investigation and prosecution in history, as he attempted to rewrite what happened during the violent riot on Jan. 6, 2021.
26% : "We're not going to put up with that crap anymore," Trump said at a post-inauguration rally on Monday, describing the Jan. 6 offenders as "hostages."For the convicted Jan. 6 defendants, and for the Trump faithful, the pardons were vindication for unjust persecutions by the president's political enemies.
24% : Another wished for Liz Cheney, the Republican who defied Trump by spearheading the congressional investigation of the violence, to "hang.
23% : Yes, there was also a lot of violence of police officers against the crowd," he said, echoing a frequent complaint of Trump supporters.

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