Outrage as Trump pardons January 6 rioters, with politicians criticizing the move

CHICAGO (WLS) — Marcos Gleffe has a few regrets about January 6, 2021.

“I mean, like, If I can go back, I wouldn’t walk into the building,” Gleffe said.

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Despite having his three-year probation cleared, a 41-year-old former Elk Grove Village resident remains a dedicated supporter of Donald Trump and feels that receiving a pardon has had minimal impact on his situation.

“I mean to me, if it erases off my record, that will kind of help, but at the same time, it really hasn’t affected me that much,” Gleffe said.

The single stroke of President Trump’s pen erased any criminal record of the actions of more than 1,500 in Gleffe’s company that day.

Now freed from the label of a convicted criminal, Karol Chwiesiuk, a former Chicago Police Officer who was seen wearing his department sweatshirt during the storming of the Capitol, may now seek reinstatement to his previous position.

“They exploited him for political purposes, portraying him in a negative light, when in reality all he did was walk on the D.C. grounds without causing any damage,” stated Nishay Sanan, Chwiesiuk’s legal representative.

But for Robin Reierson, it is different.

Video, prosecutors said, proved Reierson shoved police and tried to snatch their baton outside the Capitol on Jan. 6.

The images of the former Argonne National Lab welder strapped into a helmet in a mob sit stark against a photo of Reierson, before dawn Tuesday morning, was fresh out of jail on a sentence cut short with a pardon.

When asked whether Reierson believes he committed a crime by going into the Capitol on Jan. 6, his attorney, Mike Leonard, said, “Absolutely. But as he expressed to the judge at sentencing, he is remorseful for his actions.”

Just 14 of the most serious offenders, including the leaders of the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers, will still hold a record of their seditious conspiracy conviction.

Christine Reyna, who has made a study of violent extremism, says the president’s pardon sets dangerous precedent.

“And that’s what really concerns me. This sends the message that violence is justified when it’s done in the service of Donald Trump and his agenda,” said Reyna, a professor of social and community psychology with a focus polarism and extremism.

Some Illinois politicians agree.

There were several Illinois Congressional representatives at the Capitol on the day of the riot that stunned a watching world. Now, those representatives and a senator are themselves stunned that Trump has given them all a get-out-of-jail free card.

They are images that are burned into the memory of many, especially those who feared for their lives as they hid in the Capitol from those who assaulted it on January 6, 2021.

Democratic Congressman Brad Schneider, who represents the north and northwest suburbs, was among those seeking cover in the gallery. Now, he is reflecting with disgust on the presidential pardons for the Capitol attackers, including dozens from Illinois.

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“These were people who were intent on not just disrespecting the Capitol, not just causing harm to police officers, but causing harm to the republic, to our democracy, seeking to overturn an election,” Schneider said.

From the Oval Office, on his first night back in the White House, Trump signed an executive order pardoning all those charged in connection with the riot.

“These people have been treated so badly. It’s never happened before,” Trump said.

Democratic Sen. Dick Durbin, who was in the Senate chambers when the attack happed, decried the pardons during a speech from the Senate floor on Tuesday.

“What was the message last night of pardoning the people who assaulted them on January 6, 2021? Some people died as a result of that attack. Every American should be appalled,” Durbin said.

Congresswoman Robin Kelly, who was also in the Capitol gallery that day, called the pardons shameful and horrific.

After a bill signing Tuesday, Gov. JB Pritzker, who is considered a potential presidential candidate, was also very critical.

“What used to be the party of Law and Order is now the party of chaos and disorder, and that stands against law enforcement. The people who attacked the Capitol on January 6 were attacking law enforcement,” Pritzker said.

Schneider called the pardons a slap in the face to law enforcement.

“What he is basically saying that is, whatever you do, if you do it on my behalf, if you do it because you think you are supporting me or I think that you’re supporting President Trump thinks that it’s in support of him. All is forgiven,” Schneider said.

The Capital police chief, in an internal memo to officers after the pardons said, “When there’s no price to pay for violence against law enforcement, it sends a message that politics matter more than our first responders.”

ABC7 reached out to Republican Congressman Darin LaHood for comment, but did not immediately receive a response.

People who have not been charged with crimes connected to the Capitol riots but still have not gone to trial will have to wait for the government to dismiss their cases.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Washington, D.C. says that could still take days.