#officer michael fanone

[socialjusticeinamerica]

[filosofablogger]

Filosofa Is Grrrrrrrrowling ... Again

There’s an expression I’ve heard many times – “Nice guys finish last”.  This is so very true in the U.S. as of noon yesterday.  Many things have raised my hackles in the past 24 hours, but none so much as these … Pardon Me?????????????????????? Michael Fanone testifying before the J6 committee “I have been betrayed by my country, and I’ve been betrayed by those that supported Donald Trump,…

[massivetigernacho]

“I have been betrayed by my country, and I’ve been betrayed by those that supported Donald Trump, whether you voted for him because he promised these pardons, or for some other reason, you knew that this was coming. And here we are,” Fanone told CNN’s Anderson Cooper on Monday night.

Officer Michael Fanone knows the meaning of law and order and asserts, from hard-won experience, that Trump, our new Mussolini, does not.

[blobmanwhotries]

SEE, I TOLD YOU I CAN MAKE ART

information below bc trust me y'all probably confused lmao

The character in this drawing is Viktor, a character from the Five Nights at Freddy's Dating Simulator "Five Nights at Flirting." The game is more of the Rebornica style (using Vincent, Chris the Janitor, etc). I highly recommend the game, it's free!

That being said, spoiler warning for that game's content, in case you haven't seen it.

Key:

OG = Original

AU = Alternate Universe

RWQ = RWQFSFASXC, Shadow Bonnie's "Name"

FNaF = Five Nights at Freddy's

FNoF = Five Nights of Flirting

"The Crew" = Day/Nightshift Guards

Viktor is one of the protagonists in the game. Not much information is out there on him, other than him being the father of another more major character, Barbie, and him being dead. He was either a day/nightshift guard or he was the owner of the building, I can't remember.

In FNoF, agony and remnant isn't part of the game. Neither is the OG Afton family. A lot of canon FNAF things is not part of the FNoF universe. If it is, it isn't explicitly said - but in my and my friend's canon, we added a LOT of FNaF lore into it. Doing this gave us the opportunity to build upon the characters and really expand the universe.

In FNoF, I believe Viktor was killed in the Fazbear's establishment. This didn't change.

What did change was the motive and the method. Dave and Jack, the murderers of the children in our canon, killed Viktor by putting him in the spring bonnie suit. Think FNaF 3 Springtrap but on a different guy.

He, alongside the dead children, haunt the building as ghosts. One major thing:

He's not malicious during the nightshift.

(here on out are ideas, headcanons, fanon lore, etc)

Viktor actually just watches. Hangs around. He feels awful for the kids and that he can't do anything to stop their rage - so he usually lingers around the night guard in the office.

I like to think that he kind of has a role on causing the hallucinations in the night guards - more specifically Mike Schmidt (NOT Michael Afton).

Only after the first establishment (FNaF 1) closes down and the crew moves to the next establishment (FNaF 2) can Mike able to see Viktor's ghost properly. He's the first one of the crew to meet him after his death, with the exception of maybe Vincent (who in our original canon, did NOT kill the kids).

Hopefully that makes sense? I might go back and edit this when I'm more coherent but this is what you're getting for now lmao

With that out of the way, let's get into the shadow bonnie thing.

Let's start off with the fact that in the beginning of this, I just wanted to spice things up. I blurted out the idea of Viktor being RWQ to my friend and have been building off of that since.

1) RWQ is never outright malicious. Not in canon games, at least. In FNaF 2, the worst he would do is crash your game. Otherwise he just existed in the office.

Viktor, like RWQ, is not outright malicious. He just watches the security guard in the office. Hoping that they'll make it through the night in peace.

I considered the original "game crash" as maybe the guard passing out from sudden shock - which leads to,

2) In our canon, Viktor slowly becomes a being of agony over time. This is going to be hard to explain.

To sum it up, agony in our canon is the lingering emotions after a major event - emotions that cannot leave and can build up over time.

I think we can agree murder would stir up some very strong emotions from the victims, right?

This explains why the children are so vengeful - because of the agony from their emotions. And, of course, the fact that they're children and aren't able to regulate such powerful emotions, taking it out on any night guard. Blinded by rage, you could say.

Viktor isn't vengeful in comparison only because he can regulate his own emotions better. He knows that the night guards aren't the ones who killed him. He knows who did, but he's trapped at the building since he died there. And because the agony of the dead children latched onto him, making him unable to leave on his own.

Over time, the agony grows more and more potent. Even if he's still passive, the first form you see of him will not be human - it will be the silhouette of what he died in. What he was killed in. A forever reminder of what happened.

I've considered the "fainting" thing because I'd imagine looking to the side and suddenly seeing "bad vibes" personified is going to give someone quite a shock.

3) When coming up with this idea, I didn't make the connection of Viktor being RWQ and the FNaF 3 mini game until way later. When I did, I must say, I pat myself on the back for finding another way to validate and explain my idea. One of the theories for that mini game was that Shadow Bonnie was an employee who got springlocked, probably forcibly. You know who else got springlocked forcibly?

Viktor.

Viktor's death is a HUGE deal in our canon. Who killed him, whether he lives or not, the method - we've considered a lot of outcomes. The most common thing of all of them is the fact that Viktor always plays a role in being a reminder of what happened at Freddy's.

Even after FNaF 3 events, he still remains - only now he's attached to Vincent (who may or may not have killed the children depending on the AU).

My friend and I are super proud of this interpretation of FNoF. We've put a lot of thought into it - and we're nowhere near done with it. A lot is subject to change. But for now we're satisfied.

Sorry for such a long ramble. I'm sure this is barely comprehendible. Feel free to comment or send in questions on anything you want to know more about; other characters, more background information - don't be shy, I don't bite :)

[urialnathanonwright]

Trump's Pardons: A Betrayal of Justice and an Assault on Democracy

Ladies and gentlemen, what we are witnessing is nothing short of a seismic assault on justice, accountability, and the very fabric of our democracy. Former President Donald J. Trump, in a decision that reeks of contempt for the rule of law, has pardoned virtually every individual involved in the January 6th attack on the U.S. Capitol.

Let’s be crystal clear about what this means. This isn’t just a political calculation. This isn’t just a nod to his most fervent supporters. This is a brazen act of undermining the foundational principles that govern our nation — a nation built on the belief that no one, not even those who chant your name in rallies, is above the law.

For Trump to issue such sweeping pardons, including for individuals who violently assaulted police officers — men and women who put their lives on the line to protect this nation — is beyond abhorrent. It’s an insult to every officer who stood on the front lines, to every American who believed in accountability, and to every democracy-loving citizen who watched in horror as the Capitol was desecrated.

The excuse offered by Trump and his allies. That these individuals have "suffered enough" or that the justice system is "broken." Let me tell you what’s broken: the moral compass of anyone who believes that attacking the very heart of American democracy can be washed away with a stroke of a presidential pen.

Michael Fanone, a hero who endured a stun gun to his neck and countless injuries in defense of this country, called it “outrageous.” And he’s right. It’s a betrayal of every officer who bled, every family who mourned, and every citizen who believed that justice would be served.

And yet, this should come as no surprise. This is who Donald Trump is. A man whose primary loyalty is to himself and his political expediency, not to the Constitution he swore to uphold. He’s a man who equates the loss of his Twitter account with the suffering of those imprisoned for storming the Capitol, who sees justice not as blind but as something to be wielded as a weapon against his enemies and a shield for his allies.

To those who claim Trump was merely keeping a campaign promise: shame on you. Promises to undermine justice and exonerate the guilty are not campaign promises — they are threats. They are warnings of a descent into autocracy.

Let us be unequivocal: pardoning those who participated in an insurrection is not leniency. It’s complicity. It sends a message to every extremist, every would-be rioter, and every authoritarian that violence in the name of power will be forgiven, that the ends justify the means, and that the rule of law is nothing more than an inconvenience.

We must stand united against this. Not as Democrats or Republicans, but as Americans. Because if we allow this to stand, we are tacitly accepting that our democracy, our rule of law, and our very identity as a nation can be traded away for political expediency and applause lines at rallies.

Donald Trump may have pardoned them, but history will not. The arc of the moral universe may be long, but it bends toward justice — and it will not bend for Donald Trump.

[justinspoliticalcorner]

S.V. Dáte at HuffPost:

WASHINGTON —��Donald Trump is hosting a fundraiser for domestic terrorists convicted of assaulting police officers, and some defendants still facing those charges, as part of his Jan. 6, 2021, coup attempt to remain in power.

The event is to take place on Sept. 5 at his country club in Bedminster, New Jersey, and is being staged by The America Project, a pro-Trump nonprofit based in Florida that is calling the reception and dinner “the J6 Awards Gala.” A video promoting the event features clips of Trump praising those who are being prosecuted for taking part in the Capitol assault. “They ought to release the J6 hostages. They’ve suffered enough,” Trump says in the video from one of his campaign speeches. “I call them hostages. Some people call them prisoners. I call them hostages.” Michael Fanone, a former Washington, D.C., police officer who suffered a heart attack after being repeatedly tasered by one of Trump’s followers on Jan. 6, said Americans cannot afford to forget what happened that day. “Wake the fuck up, America,” he told HuffPost. “This is who Donald Trump is, a sick motherfucker who fetishizes violence committed on his behalf.” Trump is listed as an invited speaker on The America Project’s website, but it is unclear if he will attend the event. The reception is the same day that U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan is scheduled to hold a hearing on the federal prosecution against Trump for his attempt to overturn the 2020 election he lost.

Attempted coup plotter Donald Trump is set to host a fundraiser for the cop-assaulting domestic terrorists who stormed the Capitol in service of Trump’s lies about the 2020 election outcome on September 5th with a “J6 Awards Gala.”

Trump pals around with domestic terrorists is yet more reason to vote for Kamala Harris.

[tomorrowusa]

« Yesterday was Memorial Day. It’s a good time to reflect on how Americans fought and died so that we may enjoy the freedoms guaranteed to us by a Democratic government, a government that as President Lincoln said, “of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the Earth.” Under Trump, this kind of government will perish from the Earth. I don’t mean to scare you. No, no, wait. Maybe I do mean to scare you. If Trump returns to the White House, you can kiss these freedoms goodbye that we all take for granted. And elections? Forget about it. That’s over. That’s done. If he gets in, I can tell you right now, he will never leave. He will never leave. You know that — he will never leave. »

— Robert De Niro Tuesday at a press conference warning about a Trump second term outside the NYC courthouse where Trump is on trial. See the entire event on the video below.

De Niro is a native New Yorker – unlike most of the Congressional MAGA flunkies who flew up to NYC with their matching red neckties to display public fealty to the Dear Leader. De Niro didn't take shit from one MAGA zombie. The whole thing was all very New York.

With De Niro were Harry Dunn and Michael Fanone, two of the police officers who were injured defending the US Capitol from pro-Trump terrorists on January 6th.

The event started off with comments from Biden-Harris communications director Michael Tyler. When giving his personal opinion of Trump, De Niro went further than the Biden campaign may have anticipated; although De Niro had a script, he didn't feel obliged to constantly stick to it. 🙂

[milkbath69]

Heyy

I remember you were you saying that you dislike tlb fanon bc it was ooc... so what do you imagine the boys would be like, then?

Why do you like the greasers? Is it solely because of canon or do personal headcanons make them appeal to you?

I think I like Zoe because she's aggressive and assertive. I've always admired girls who stand up for themselves, especially if it's in a cunty, firey way. Fearless, I guess. Brave. But yeah, I see what you mean about Jimmy and Zoe's romance being rushed.

Love the little devil horns for Jimmy...I would honestly wear them year round if I could get away with it.

Do you play Jimmy as more 'nice' in the game? Or do you make him a ruthless asshole? I was... mostly nice. Ocassionally, I would antagonize the nerds or the jocks, if they pissed me off. I also weirdly loved driving the lawn mower from the mini game. I even saw a lawnmower you could drive irl and I was tempted to steal it. Weird times.

Do you have a favourite Gorillaz character? Or are you solely into the music? I like Murdoc because he's a fruity satanist. He's undeniably a piece if shit, but idk... I relate to the misfit aspect of his character. And what songs do you like by the band? Off the top of my head, it would be rhinestone eyes, on Melancholy Hill.

I also wanted to wish you a Happy New Year. I hope you have an awesome night and all the best for the upcoming year.

for the lost boys mm all the stuff that i have seen has been x reader stuff and its been uh not great... from what ive seen people tend to make them like instantly fall in love with the reader because she is just SO different from everyone else on the boardwalk or she's just unafraid of them or some other dumb reason and like that doesnt make sense at all?? like did we all watch the same movie they kill people they killed that boardwalk security officer and he sure as hell wasnt afraid of them. i guess in my mind theyre a lot more gay (seriously why is the reader always a female did we watch the same movie they wanted michael BAD) a lot more violent, and a lot more bitchy because they arent nice people in the slightest and i think its a little ridiculous how fanon makes it seem like they are OR they would be just for y/n because people lets be real. michael emerson was the y/n and they were pretty bitchy to him

to be honest i like the greasers the most because of their outfits and i think their theme is the best (though all the clique themes are so good) i dont really interact in fandom spaces much besides fanart or fanfiction so i dont really have any headcanons for them. i did hear one of them say "stay gold ponyboy" as i was running through the autoshop once which i liked bc surprise!!! im also a big outsiders fan

i can see why people are fans of zoe bur for me she was introduced too late for those parts of her personality to really show yk? her character as a whole felt like a big afterthought to me especially in the cut scenes with jimmy

oh i was a cunt with jimmy. i beat up like everybody every chance i got LMAOO around like 50% of my gameplay was just me beating up people who didn't deserve it. i would be fighting with the adult townies, jocks, greasers, prefects, basically EVERYONE. most of the time they had it coming though. they kept insulting the fit! they had to be beaten up. i do remember one time i made jimmy stay up all night fighting people at the carnival and when he woke up HE HAD NO CLOTHES??? WHO ROBBED HIS ASS?? WHO WAS SO DESPERATE THEY NEEDED A FIFTEEN YEAR OLDS SHIRT, SHOES, PANTS, DEVIL HORNS, AND THE LITTLE BRACELETS??? LIKE ??

my fav character would probably be russell but tbh after around the song machine? i think ? i stopped listening to their new albums. cracker island just sounds so bad and dont even get me started on that GOD AWFUL album art. i have so many gorillaz songs i like its hard to choose.. i got introduced to them by rhinestone eyes so thatll always hold a special place in my heart and plastic beach as a whole is my favorite album. i think maybe 5/4 or sleeping powder might be my favorites but its hard to choose

thank you!!! happy new years to you too!! i hope you have a good year aswell!! im actually going to be able to go to the outsiders museum from like january 8th to the following monday idk the exact date so im starting my year off right :p

[partisan-by-default]

Michael Fanone, a former police officer who was nearly killed by a mob during the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, spoke outside the courthouse during closing arguments in Donald Trump's hush money trial Tuesday, calling Trump "an authoritarian" with "a violence fetish."

Hours later, Fanone's mother was "swatted" at her home in Virginia.

That night, Fanone told NBC News, his mother opened the door to law enforcement in her nightgown, "mortified" to find SWAT team officers at her home.

"How dangerous is it to send law enforcement to an address in which you essentially are describing an active shooter, in which the only person present is a 78-year-old f---ing woman," he said. "This is the reality of going up against or challenging Donald Trump. ... These swatting calls are incredibly f---ing dangerous, especially when the target is somebody like my mom."

[filosofablogger]

In Poor Taste ... To Say The Least!

My jaw dropped and steam began coming out of my ears when I read about the latest board game being released this Saturday, January 6th.  Does the date ring any bells?  Yes, it is the third anniversary of the horrible attack on the United States Capitol – an attack designed to overthrow the 2020 election and allow a wanna-be dictator to remain in office indefinitely; an attack that killed several…

[posttexasstressdisorder]

What a soulless critter.

Dead inside...look at those eyes...there's nothing in there but malice.

[dreaminginthedeepsouth]

Ed Hall

* * * *

LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN

May 28, 2024

HEATHER COX RICHARDSON

MAY 29, 2024

The defense and the prosecution today made their closing statements in the New York criminal case against Trump for falsifying business records to hide a $130,000 payment to adult film actress Stephanie Clifford, also known as Stormy Daniels. The payment was intended to stop her account of her sexual encounter with Trump from becoming public in the days before the 2016 election, when the Trump campaign was already reeling from the Access Hollywood tape showing Trump boasting of sexual assault.  

The Biden-Harris campaign showed up at the trial today with veteran actor Robert DeNiro and former police officers Michael Fanone and Harry Dunn, who protected the U.S. Capitol and members of Congress from rioters on January 6, 2021. In words seemingly calculated to get under Trump’s skin, DeNiro said, “We New Yorkers used to tolerate him when he was just another grubby real estate hustler masquerading as a big shot,” and called him a coward. 

When Robert Costa of CBS News asked campaign spokesperson Michael Tyler why they had shown up at the trial, Tyler answered: “Because you all are here. You’ve been incessantly covering this day in and day out, and we want to remind the American people ahead of the…first debate on June 27 of the unique, persistent, and growing threat that Donald Trump poses to the American people and to our democracy. So since you all are here, we’re here communicating that message.” 

Yesterday, in remarks at Arlington National Cemetery in observance of Memorial Day, President Joe Biden honored “the sacrifice of the hundreds of thousands of women and men who’ve given their lives for this nation. Each one…a link in the chain of honor stretching back to our founding days. Each one bound by common commitment—not to a place, not to a person, not to a President, but to an idea unlike any idea in human history: the idea of the United States of America.”

“[F]reedom has never been guaranteed,” Biden said. “Every generation has to earn it; fight for it; defend it in battle between autocracy and democracy, between the greed of a few and the rights of many…. And just as our fallen heroes have kept the ultimate faith with our country and our democracy, we must keep faith with them,” he said. 

His speech at Arlington echoed the message he delivered to this year’s graduating class at the United States Military Academy at West Point, where he urged the graduates to hold fast to their oaths. “On your very first day at West Point, you raised your right hands and took an oath—not to a political party, not to a president, but to the Constitution of the United States of America—against all enemies, foreign and domestic,” he said to applause. Soldiers “have given their lives for that Constitution. They have fought to defend the freedoms that it protects: the right to vote, the right to worship, the right to raise your voice in protest. They have saved and sacrificed to ensure, as President Lincoln said, a ‘government of the people, by the people, and for the people shall not perish from the Earth.’”

“[N]othing is guaranteed about our democracy in America. Every generation has an obligation to defend it, to protect it, to preserve it, to choose it,” he said. “Now, it’s your turn.” Biden spent more than an hour saluting and shaking the hand of each graduate. 

In contrast, Trump ushered in Memorial Day with a post on his social media company, saying: “Happy Memorial Day to All, including the Human Scum that is working so hard to destroy our Once Great Country, & to the Radical Left, Trump Hating Federal Judge in New York that presided over, get this, TWO separate trials, that awarded a woman, who I never met before (a quick handshake at a celebrity event, 25 years ago, doesn’t count!), 91 MILLION DOLLARS for “DEFAMATION.” He then continued to attack E. Jean Carroll, the writer who successfully sued him for defamation, before turning to attack Judge Arthur Engoron, who presided over the civil case of Trump and the Trump Organization falsifying documents, and Judge Juan Merchan, who is presiding over the current criminal case in New York. 

The message behind this extraordinary post was twofold: Trump can think of nothing but himself…and he appears to be terrified. 

On Saturday, May 25, Trump had an experience quite different from his usual reception at rallies of hand-picked supporters. He was resoundingly booed at the national convention of the Libertarian Party in Washington, D.C., where Secret Service agents confiscated squeaky rubber chickens before his speech. Attendees jeered Trump’s order, “You have to combine with us,” even when he reminded them of his libertarian credentials—tax cuts and defunding of federal equality programs—and promised to pardon the January 6 rioters who attacked the U.S. Capitol. 

Trump also promised to pardon Ross Ulbricht, who founded and from January 2011 to October 2013 ran an online criminal marketplace called Silk Road, where more than $200 million in illegal drugs and other illicit goods and services, such as computer hacking, were bought and sold. Most of the sales were of drugs, with the Silk Road home page listing nearly 13,000 options, including heroin, cocaine, ecstasy, and LSD. The wares were linked to at least six deaths from overdose around the world. In May 2015, Ulbricht was sentenced to life in prison and was ordered to forfeit more than $180 million. 

Libertarians want Ulbricht released because they support drug legalization on the grounds that people should be able to make their own choices and they see Ulbricht’s sentence as government overreach. Trump has repeatedly called for the death penalty for drug dealers, making his promise to pardon Ulbricht an illustration of just how badly he thinks he needs the support of Libertarian voters. But they refused to endorse him. 

Trump appeared angry, and on Sunday, as Greg Sargent reported in The New Republic, he reposted a video of a man raging at MSNBC host Joe Scarborough. In it, the man says that when Trump is reelected: “He’ll get rid of all you f*cking liberals. You liberals are gone when he f*cking wins. You f*cking blowjob liberals are done. Uncle Donnie’s gonna take this election—landslide. Landslide, you f*cking half a blowjob. Landslide. Get the f*ck out of here, you scumbag.” 

Trump’s elevation of this video, Sargent notes, is a dangerous escalation of his already violent rhetoric, and yet it has gotten very little media attention. 

Last November, Matt Gertz of Media Matters reported that ABC News, CBS News, and NBC News provided 18 times more coverage of 2016 Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton’s comment at a fundraising event that “you could put half of Trump’s supporters into what I call the basket of deplorables” who are “racist, sexist, homophobic, xenophobic, Islamophobic,” than they provided of Trump’s November 2023 promise to “root out the communist, Marxist, fascist and the radical left thugs that live like vermin within the confines of our country.” 

CNN, the Fox News Channel, and MSNBC mentioned the “deplorables” comment nearly 9 times more than Trump’s “vermin” language. The ratio for the five highest-circulating U.S. newspapers was 29:1. 

Clinton’s statement was consistent with polling, and she added that the rest of Trump’s supporters were “people who feel that the government has let them down, the economy has let them down, nobody cares about them, nobody worries about what happens to their lives and their futures, and they’re just desperate for change.” She said: “Those are people we have to understand and empathize with as well.”

Sargent noted that news stories require context and that Trump’s elevation of the violent video should be placed alongside his many threats to prosecute his enemies. While there is often concern over disrespect toward right-wing voters, Sargent writes, there has been very little attention to the presumptive Republican presidential nominee’s posting of “a video that declares a large ideological subgroup of Americans ‘done’ and ‘gone’ if he is elected.”

Scott MacFarlane of CBS News reported yesterday that Republicans have ignored a law passed in March 2022 requiring the placement of a small plaque honoring police officers who protected the U.S. Capitol and the lawmakers and staffers there on January 6, 2021. It was supposed to be in place by March 2023 but has not gone up. A spokesperson for House speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) says his office is working on it. Kayla Tausche of CNN reported today that three of the police officers at the Capitol that day—Sergeant Aquilino Gonell and Officer Harry Dunn, both retired, and Officer Daniel Hodges, who is still with the Washington, D.C., metropolitan police—will be traveling to swing states for the Biden campaign to tell voters that Trump threatens Americans’ fundamental rights. 

Finally, today, Melinda French Gates, co-founder of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, announced $1 billion in new spending over the next two years “for people and organizations working on behalf of women and families around the world, including on reproductive rights in the United States.” Only 2% of charitable giving in the U.S. goes to these organizations, she wrote the New York Times, and “[f]or too long, a lack of money has forced organizations fighting for women's rights into a defensive posture while the enemies of progress play offense. I want to help even the match.”

—

LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN

HEATHER COX RICHARDSON

[ceevee5]

“Regardless of whether Donald Trump wins or loses, there’s going to be violence,” said Michael Fanone, a retired police officer who was seriously injured by pro-Trump rioters at the US Capitol on 6 January 2021. “If Donald Trump loses, he’s not going to concede and he’s going to inspire people to commit acts of violence, just like he did in the weeks and months leading up to January 6, 2021. If he wins, I also believe that there’s going to be violence committed by his supporters, targeting people who previously tried to hold him to account, whether it was members of the press, average citizens like myself, Department of Justice officials, state and federal prosecutors. I believe him when he says that he will have his vengeance.”

[vague-humanoid]

Former Metropolitan Police Officer Michael Fanone does not think much of CNN's decision to host a town hall featuring former President Donald Trump.

In an essay published in Rolling Stone, Fanone argued that CNN is "throwing a rehabilitation party" for "a guy who tried to get me killed" by inciting a deadly riot at the United States Capitol building on January 6th, 2021.

In denouncing Trump as unworthy of a platform, Fanone singled out his repeated lies about the "rigged" 2020 election that inspired his supporters to violently attack Congress in an effort to block the certification of President Joe Biden's victory.

And in addition to the riot itself, Fanone argues, Trump showed that he was willing to destroy the entire American republic to get his way.

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Dean Obeidallah at The Dean's Report:

I hope your blood is boiling after Donald Trump’s pardon of approximately 1,500 terrorists who attacked our Capitol on Jan. 6. And yes, Trump’s own hand-picked FBI Director testified before Congress that Jan. 6 was an “act of domestic terrorism.” So those people Trump has now pardoned—which includes those in the video below you can see brutally attacking police officers—are terrorists. This is akin to Bin Laden pardoning those involved in the 9/11 terrorist attack. Overall, the pardons covered more than 600 rioters who had been charged with assaulting, resisting or impeding law enforcement officers at the Capitol. Approximately, 175 of these Trump allies used deadly or dangerous weapons in the attack--including toxic sprays, baseball bats, two-by-fours, crutches, hockey sticks and broken wooden table legs.

Those Trump pardoned include people like Julian Khater, who pled guilty to “assaulting law enforcement officers with pepper spray,” including Officer Brian Sicknick, who died the following day. And Ronald Colton McAbee, a former sheriff’s deputy who was sentenced to nearly six years in prison for assaulting police officers. As DOJ detailed, McAbee held down a police officer who had been “knocked to the ground, kicked, and stripped of his baton by other rioters” enabling the crowd to viciously beat him. As a result, “the officer sustained physical injuries, including a head laceration, concussion, elbow injury, bruising, and bodily abrasions.” Daniel Joseph "DJ" Rodriguez who used a stun gun on Metropolitan Police Officer Michael Fanone and was sentenced to 12.5 years for his bevy of crimes. And David Dempsey who prosecutors called “one of the most violent” Jan. 6 attackers—who assaulted and injured numerous police officers by spraying then with pepper spray and hitting them with various items including a metal crutch, chairs and a long wooden pole. He pled guilty and was sentenced to two decades in prison. Then there are the leaders of the militant groups the Oath Keepers and Proud Boys who had been convicted of “Seditious Conspiracy”—which is almost as serious as Treason. As DOJ noted, the Oath Keepers leaders “plotted to oppose by force the lawful transfer of presidential power” and then came to Washington, D.C. on Jan. 6 “with paramilitary gear and supplies including firearms, tactical vests with plates, helmets, and radio equipment.” Yet Trump freed them from prison despite their sentences of nearly 20 years. These are violent and dangerous people—including many with military experience and tactical planning skills--who Trump pardoned and released from jail. Why? Trump—like any other aspiring dictators—wants to make a public showing that if you commit crimes and violence on his behalf, he will have your back. However, there is also an even more sinister reason for Trump’s pardons of the most violent attackers. Trump wants to incentivize others in MAGA to do the same in the future—with the implicit promise being “I will pardon you like I did the Jan. 6 terrorists.”

[...] Ben-Ghiat then shared the bone-chilling truth about why Trump would pardon the Jan, 6 attackers if he won. As she noted, “The pardons are about encouraging people to do more violence, thinking that they're not going to pay any consequences.” She added, “That's actually the essence of authoritarianism and fascism: You arrange government so that you can be violent and corrupt and get away with it.” Some were likely shocked when Trump pardoned the violent Jan. 6 attackers given leading Republicans like Trump’s own Vice-President J.D. Vance last week declared on national TV: “If you committed violence on that day, obviously you shouldn’t be pardoned.” Even House Speaker Mike Johnson said recently that “peaceful protesters should be pardoned, but violent criminals should not.” But Trump doesn’t care what his Vice President thinks—after all Trump intentionally put his then Vice President Mike Pence’s life in jeopardy on Jan. 6. Nor does Trump care that polling finds two-thirds of Americans oppose pardoning the Jan. 6 attackers—especially those who committed violence that day.

Dean Obeidallah is right: this terrorist-coddling move from Donald Trump by pardoning almost all of the J6er insurrectionists is about encouraging right-wing terrorists doing violent deeds to ger their way.