Can I be Forgiven if I Commit a Crime?

I guess if you are one of the Washington DC rioters, it can happen. It did happen for this rioter as well as other rioters. The decision to pardon those involved in January 6 was Trumps. Giving some of them (the insurrectionists) jobs in government was Trumps. Sadly doing so sends ahe message that crimes can be forgiven as long as they serve the aims of those in power.

It really is a sleight on those who were tasked to defend the White House and the nation against rioters who should have went to jail or prison for their actions. Trump evidently sees differently. Elias is lucky enough to have Trump as his protection.

“The J6 rioter now working at the Pentagon,” – The Atlantic

A person who took task with the United States and participated in an attack on the government one day was hired afterwards to work in the government? Well this did happen.

“On January 6, 2021, 19-year-old Elias Irizarry was among the members of a violent mob that broke into the U.S. Capitol and attempted to overturn the recent presidential election. He was convicted of trespassing on government grounds. Videos from that day show him entering through a window with a metal pole in his hand. Now he may have access to sensitive national-security information as an employee of the Department of Defense.

As part of his deal with then-President Biden’s Justice Department, Irizarry pleaded guilty to the misdemeanor charge of entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds, He was sentenced to 14 days in jail. But as with almost all of the other January 6ers, he was fully pardoned on Donald Trump’s return to office last year. The Washington Post reports (this week) the 25-year-old Irizarry works at the Pentagon’s Special Operations and Low Intensity Conflict office.

Today Elias is tasked with guarding the country against terrorist threats. He himself participated in an attack on the U.S. government just over five years ago. Yes, but then his trajectory was aligning with Trump’s ongoing effort to reframe the January 6 insurrectionists as “patriots” acting in support of a righteous cause. Elias’s actions then? His action reflects on the White House’s tendency to reward illegal actions performed in the service of the president and his agenda.

So, Elias is off the hook for a crime. Instead, he is awarded with a good job working in Trump’s administration. Go figure . . .