Trump could have pardoned him. The coup attempt happened on the 6th, Biden didn’t take office until noon on the 20th officially. Trump pardoned plenty of people on his way out. He absolutely could have pardoned Tarrio, there’s precedent for pardoning people for crimes that haven’t been discovered yet in the wake of Nixon leaving office, and for crimes that are known but they haven’t been formally charged with yet in pardoning all the Vietnam draft dodgers. It was as simple as a single sentence, “all participants in the 01/06 protest to protect the integrity of our elections are hereby pardoned of any and all crimes they may be accused of as a result of their participation.” He just didn’t do it. He abandoned his faithful to years in prison, not just cynical authoritarians like the proud boys but true believers who honestly thought they were saving America. He told them all they can get fucked and die in prison.
This is what authoritarians don’t realize about authoritarianism. In a dictatorship there is one and only one person who matters, and everyone else is either that person’s enemy, useful to that person, or nonexistent. They were useful to Trump. Now that they’re no longer useful, they’re nonexistent and he has discarded them.
Trump could have pardoned him. The coup attempt happened on the 6th, Biden didn’t take office until noon on the 20th officially. Trump pardoned plenty of people on his way out. He absolutely could have pardoned Tarrio, there’s precedent for pardoning people for crimes that haven’t been discovered yet in the wake of Nixon leaving office, and for crimes that are known but they haven’t been formally charged with yet in pardoning all the Vietnam draft dodgers. It was as simple as a single sentence, “all participants in the 01/06 protest to protect the integrity of our elections are hereby pardoned of any and all crimes they may be accused of as a result of their participation.” He just didn’t do it. He abandoned his faithful to years in prison, not just cynical authoritarians like the proud boys but true believers who honestly thought they were saving America. He told them all they can get fucked and die in prison.
This is what authoritarians don’t realize about authoritarianism. In a dictatorship there is one and only one person who matters, and everyone else is either that person’s enemy, useful to that person, or nonexistent. They were useful to Trump. Now that they’re no longer useful, they’re nonexistent and he has discarded them.