Trump’s J6 Pardons Are a Prelude to More Political Violence

The arguments Republicans have made in their opposition to Joe Biden’s contemptuous pardons are pretty compelling. The former president’s sweeping and even preemptive pardons subvert ongoing legal processes and, therefore, the law. His commutation of Leonard Peltier’s life sentence for killing two FBI agents weakens the legal deterrent against murdering law enforcement so long as the killer enjoys some political cachet. The GOP’s self-styled image as the party of “law and order” has purchase insofar as it contrasts with the Democrats who turned a blind eye to crimes committed by the right people amid circumstances that pique left-wing sympathies.

The persuasive power these arguments once enjoyed has been diluted by Donald Trump’s “full, complete and unconditional pardon to all other individuals convicted of offenses related to events that occurred at or near the United States Capitol on January 6, 2021.”

About the Author

Noah Rothman

Noah Rothman is a senior writer at National Review. His third book, Blood and Progress: A Century of Left-Wing Violence, was published by Hachette in May 2026.

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The arguments Republicans have made in their opposition to Joe Biden’s contemptuous pardons are pretty compelling. The former president’s sweeping and even preemptive pardons subvert ongoing legal processes and, therefore, the law. His commutation of Leonard Peltier’s life sentence for killing two FBI agents weakens the legal deterrent against murdering law enforcement so long as the killer enjoys some political cachet. The GOP’s self-styled image as the party of “law and order” has purchase insofar as it contrasts with the Democrats who turned a blind eye to crimes committed by the right people amid circumstances that pique left-wing sympathies.

The persuasive power these arguments once enjoyed has been diluted by Donald Trump’s “full, complete and unconditional pardon to all other individuals convicted of offenses related to events that occurred at or near the United States Capitol on January 6, 2021.”

About the Author

Noah Rothman

Noah Rothman is a senior writer at National Review. His third book, Blood and Progress: A Century of Left-Wing Violence, was published by Hachette in May 2026.