Critics slam Trump for whitewashing Jan. 6 as many rioters he pardoned have committed more crimes

“It’s been a Trump-inspired crime spree,” said U.S. House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries during a special hearing on the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol.

Marking the five-year anniversary of the Jan. 6, 2021 (J6), violent attack on the U.S. Capitol, Democrats in Congress, former Republican lawmakers, law enforcement officers, and even a former Trump supporter who participated in the mob, are condemning President Donald Trump for what they say is an attempt to whitewash what really happened that day and his role in it.

“A violent mob incited by Donald Trump attacked the Capitol as part of a concerted effort to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election and halt the peaceful transfer of power for the first time in American history. This blood thirsty, treacherous mob brutally assaulted police officers and seriously injured more than 140 brave men and women of law enforcement,” said U.S. Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, the Democratic leader of the U.S. House of Representatives, on Tuesday during a special hearing hosted by House Democrats highlighting J6 and its aftermath.

“Donald Trump and far-right extremists in Congress have repeatedly attempted to rewrite history and whitewash the horrific events of January 6.”

Thousands of Trump supporters descended on Washington, D.C., for a rally in support of overturning the 2020 election results. Trump, who lost by more than 7 million votes to now-former President Joe Biden, repeatedly and falsely claimed that the election was rigged by voter fraud despite losing more than 60 lawsuits challenging the elections in several states. Trump also faced federal criminal charges in D.C. and state criminal charges in Georgia for actions he and co-conspirators allegedly took, including pressuring lawmakers and creating fake electors to change voting results. Those charges were all dismissed after Trump was ultimately re-elected in 2024.

On Tuesday, Democrats convened witnesses on Capitol Hill to lay out the true events of Jan. 6, as Trump, who still refuses to acknowledge his 2020 loss, has taken steps to undermine the violent event that left five law enforcement officers and one rioter dead.

“The years may have muffled the screams we heard, and the horrible images of that day may have faded. So as we mark this grim anniversary, it’s important that we remember exactly what happened. January 6 was not a regular tourist visit. It was not a day of love. It was a bloody riot that pushed our democracy to the breaking point,” said U.S. Rep. Bennie Thompson, who chaired the now-defunct U.S. House Select Committee Investigating the January 6th Attack, at Tuesday’s hearing.

Thompson added, “Some people want to rewrite the history of January 6; to ignore what we saw with our own eyes. Some people want us to forget the lessons of that day, to pretend that we have overcome the threats facing our democracy and the rule of law. We will not allow that to happen.”

Erica P. Loewe, who worked for U.S. Rep. Jim Clyburn inside the Capitol building on Jan. 6, 2021, told theGrio, “Marking this anniversary should be about action, not just symbolism. As someone who was inside the Capitol on January 6, I think it’s important to acknowledge the seriousness of what happened that day.”

However, the former Biden White House official added, “But hearings and reports matter only if they lead to real accountability and stronger protections for our democracy.”

Accountability for Jan. 6 has reversed course once Trump returned to the White House. On his first day in office, Trump pardoned the nearly 1,600 rioters criminally charged for their actions. The 47th president of the United States called the already jailed offenders “hostages” and “political prisoners.”

A new report by Democrats on the U.S. House Committee on the Judiciary found that many of those pardoned by Trump last year have reoffended for various crimes.

According to the report, the crimes committed by some J6 rioters before and after the riot include: child sexual assault, production of child pornography, possession of child pornography, rape, conspiracy to murder FBI agents, kidnapping, sexual assault, aggravated robbery, reckless homicide, driving under the influence causing death, illegal possession of firearms, domestic violence by strangulation, burglary, vandalism, grand theft, stalking, violation of protection orders, threatening public officials and drug trafficking.

“It’s been a Trump-inspired crime spree,” said Leader Jeffries.

Pamela Hemphill, a J6 rioter who no longer supports Trump and refused to accept his pardon, told Democrats on Tuesday that she was remorseful for participating in the violent attack on the Capitol.

“I am deeply grateful for this chance to try to make amends…Once I got away from the MAGA cult and started educating myself about January the 6th, I knew what I did was wrong,” said Hemphill.

She continued, “Speaking about January the 6th has caused a great risk to my personal safety. I have been doxed online, harrassed, and physically assaulted, but I am here and I don’t care. I won’t let it stop me.”

Hemphill added, “I can’t sit here while Mr. Trump and others are lying. I also want others who feel like me to know that we must stop the lies being pushed by leaders and Trump himself.”