Minnesota senators debated Thursday whether to condemn President Donald Trump’s sweeping pardon of Jan. 6 rioters and pushed off a possible vote on the resolution until next week.
Upon taking office in January, Trump issued a blanket pardon of the 1,500-plus people who were charged or convicted in connection with the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol. Fifteen Minnesotans were among those pardoned, including eight who had been convicted and sentenced.
Sen. Ron Latz, DFL-St. Louis Park, brought forward the resolution condemning the pardons. On the Senate floor, Latz recounted how rioters swarmed the Capitol that day and assaulted police officers in plain sight, using everything from flagpoles and batons to chemical irritants as weapons.
“The evidence of such widespread criminal destruction is indisputable,” Latz said. He urged Republicans and Democrats in the chamber to come together to condemn the pardons.
Sen. Judy Seeberger, DFL-Afton, called the pardons “a slap in the face to law enforcement everywhere.”
Senate Republicans criticized the resolution as divisive and a “waste of time.” They said Democrats, who control the Senate by a 34-32 margin, should be focusing on issues relevant to Minnesota, such as how to address a looming projected budget deficit.
“This is political theater,” said Sen. Michael Kreun, R-Blaine. “Are Minnesota Democrats serious about governing this state?”
Republicans tried to add amendments to the resolution that would have also condemned former President Joe Biden’s pardon of his son, Hunter, and Gov. Tim Walz’s response to the 2020 riots, among other topics. DFL senators rejected the GOP amendments, aside from one that broadly condemned violence against law enforcement.
