This is a rare posture. Pamela Hemphill may have served her sentence – 60 days in prison for participating in the assault on the Capitol on January 6, 2021 – but she refuses to be pardoned by Donald Trump. This is one of the first decrees signed by the Republican president: as of Monday evening, the day of his inauguration, he pardoned more than 1,500 rioters. This initiative excited its supporters and energized those mainly concerned. Except “Grandma Maga”, as some Internet users call her, in reference to Donald Trump’s slogan “Make America Great Again”.
“We were wrong that day, we broke the law and there should be no pardon,” she said on the BBC’s Newsday program on Wednesday. The repentant believes “that accepting a pardon would only insult the Capitol police, the rule of law and, of course, our nation”. Sentenced to 60 days in prison, she pleaded guilty in court.
“I pleaded guilty because I was guilty, and accepting a pardon would contribute to their manipulation and false narrative,” she told the British media outlet. The Trump government is trying to “rewrite history and I don’t want to be part of that,” says the repentant.
-This pardon, however, is not unanimous among Republicans. Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina “simply cannot agree” since it “raises legitimate security concerns on Capitol Hill.” “I think we have to continue to say that we are a party of law and order,” James Lankford, senator from Oklahoma, added on CNN. I think if you attack a police officer, it’s a very serious problem and they should pay the price. »
The case of Pamela Hemphill is not a first: convicts have already refused a pardon and have the power to do so under the American Constitution, according to the Supreme Court.
