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I Prosecuted the Capitol Rioters. I Know Why Trump Pardoned Them. - The New York Times [1]
['Brendan Ballou']
Date: 2025-01-24
On Jan. 6, 2021, Jalise and Mark Middleton, a married couple from Texas, trespassed onto the Capitol grounds and joined thousands of rioters gathered at the building’s West Front.
The assembled mob was assaulting a thin line of officers, and pepper spray wafted through the air. Rather than retreating in the face of violence, the couple pushed up against the makeshift barrier the police had established, hit officers and tried to drag one into the crowd. They gave up only after they were pepper-sprayed themselves, and though they did not make it into the Capitol, they were proud of what they did: Afterward, Ms. Middleton wrote on Facebook, “We fought the cops to get in the Capitol and got pepper-sprayed and beat but by gosh the patriots got in!”
I know this because I was one of the scores of lawyers who prosecuted the rioters, and was part of the team that tried the Middletons specifically. (On Thursday, I left the Justice Department, and speak only for myself.) One moment from their trial has stuck with me. Sitting in the courtroom in the awkward minutes before their verdict was announced, I noticed that Mr. Middleton was wearing “TRUMP” socks, with the president’s face stitched into the side. That small sign of fealty struck me as incredibly sad. The Middletons were ready to go to prison for a man who, quite likely, didn’t care about them at all.
The Middletons were convicted on all counts, including charges of assaulting federal officers. But on Monday, Mr. Trump pardoned them and nearly 1,600 other people who attacked the Capitol in his name. I think he did so not out of sympathy for the rioters, but because their freedom serves his interests.
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[1] Url:
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/01/24/opinion/trump-pardon-jan-6-capitol.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare&fbclid=IwY2xjawIB2pBleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHWHEIcRT0TfHnWxun9fTXbdbsPbDp28Lj6J-BKBQevL_NYsJSRVoGdflIA_aem_-2MmnwRUbjufFhW_8JLhow
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