President Donald Trump’s recent pardons of Jan. 6, 2021, protesters who assaulted law enforcement officers at the U.S. Capitol have become an issue in this spring’s Wisconsin Supreme Court contest.
Trump pardoned about 1,500 of the Jan. 6 protesters last week. C-SPAN carried Trump’s signing of an executive order as an aide spoke with the president.
Trump: "OK, and how many people is this?"
Aide: "I think this order will apply to approximately 1,500 people, sir."
Trump: "So this is Jan. 6, and these are the hostages."
By "hostages," Trump meant the people arrested and mostly tried and convicted of taking part in the riot at the U.S. Capitol four years ago. They attempted but failed to stop Congress from certifying Joe Biden’s defeat of Trump in the November 2020 presidential election.
Last week’s pardons included people who assaulted law enforcement officers during the riot. Trump’s executive order has been highly controversial, even among some Republican lawmakers.
The controversy is now part of the upcoming Wisconsin Supreme Court contest between Waukesha County Judge Brad Schimel and Dane County Judge Susan Crawford. During a media call this week, the Schimel campaign announced endorsements from the GOP members of Wisconsin’s congressional delegation, and the candidate answered a few media questions.
In one reply, Schimel refused to criticize the pardons of those who assaulted police on Jan. 6: “Presidents have the power to pardon. President Biden has issued pardons. President Trump has now issued pardons as he’s come in. And presidents over history have done that. It’s a power they have. I don’t object to them utilizing that power," Schimel told reporters.
Schimel added that people who assaulted law enforcement on Jan. 6 should have been prosecuted. But he said Washington, D.C., prosecutors overreached when handling the cases of some nonviolent protesters.
Judge Crawford wasn’t available for comment, but a campaign spokesperson released a statement saying, "Schimel’s support for violent criminals who attacked law enforcement is sickening."
Also concerned about Schimel’s refusal to criticize the pardons is Harry Dunn, a former U.S. Capitol police officer who was on duty the day of the riot. Dunn took part in news conferences in Milwaukee and Madison on Tuesday held by groups supporting Crawford.
Dunn blasted Schimel:
“It’s insulting that anybody, let alone someone seeking public office, would not have the decency to criticize assaulting law enforcement officers. How do you think he’s going to preside over events if he can’t even say assaulting police officers is wrong?" Dunn told reporters.
Recently, the Schimel campaign announced the endorsements of 52 current Wisconsin county sheriffs and 18 retired ones. The conservative candidate also again mentioned endorsements from the Waukesha County Police Chiefs Association and the Milwaukee police officers union, the Milwaukee Police Association.
Schimel appears with some law enforcement officials in his first campaign commercial, touting his positions: “Helping Wisconsin’s most vulnerable. Stopping elder abuse. Taking on human traffickers. Putting pedophiles behind bars."
But with the failure to criticize the Trump pardons, former U.S. Capitol police officer Dunn says Schimel is being “hypocritical or staged or whatever word you want to use. It’s not genuine. It’s not authentic. Believe people’s actions and what they’re saying and their words. Not some campaign stunt, you know," Dunn said.
The April 1 Supreme Court election will again determine control of the court, as liberals currently hold a 4-3 majority, but liberal Justice Ann Walsh Bradley is retiring.
Conservatives are eager to regain control, as they were prior to Janet Protasiewicz’s election to the state court in 2023, and see Schimel’s candidacy as their path to victory.
