Weeks before the Jan. 6, 2021, riots at the U.S. Capitol, Oregon saw its own version in miniature.
Dozens of far-right protesters burst into the state Capitol in Salem in an attempt to disrupt lawmakers鈥� special session over COVID-19 restrictions. Days later, hopped on a flight to Washington D.C. to that delayed certification of the 2020 presidential election.
Now that President Donald Trump pardoned or commuted the sentences of many of the people who stormed the U.S. Capitol, critics have raised concerns that using the executive privilege in that manner would essentially co-sign anti-democratic behavior.
鈥淧ardoning these folks is basically a tacit endorsement,鈥� said Luke Baumgartner, a George Washington University researcher who specializes in domestic extremism. 鈥淚t鈥檚 saying, 鈥榊ou know, what you did this day was acceptable. It鈥檚 OK for you to engage in political violence.鈥欌��
Time will tell whether, as Baumgartner worried, Trump鈥檚 pardons will encourage far-right activists to rally and again try to disrupt politics at local, state and federal levels.
On Monday, Trump pardoned nearly all of the 1,500-plus people charged with crimes or convicted related to Jan. 6. Prosecutors had accused them of crimes ranging from sedition to felony assaults to misdemeanor charges that amounted to little more than trespassing.
The riots injured roughly 140 officers and caused more than $2.8 million in property damage, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.
Pardons had elicited mixed reactions nationwide leading up to Trump鈥檚 stroke of the pen. Conservatives, like Vice President J.D. Vance, had recently pondered whether people accused of violence would be pardoned. Critics, meanwhile, say the pardons will undermine the federal judiciary and rule of law.
Even among defendants, there is no consensus. Some are ready to go back into the political fray, while others have come to regret their involvement.
Earlier this month, one of the men who demonstrated at the Oregon Capitol and later flew to Washington D.C., wrote on social media that he was preparing to go 鈥渙n offense.鈥�
鈥淭hey tried to destroy me, shame me, and make me go away,鈥� wrote David Anthony Medina, a Sherwood, Oregon, man. His online post featured a photo of him at the U.S. Capitol Rotunda waving an American flag.
Medina faced felony and misdemeanor charges, according to the justice department. Notably, footage from the event captured Medina appearing to smash a wooden 鈥淪peaker of the House鈥� sign belonging to U.S. Rep. Nancy Pelosi at the U.S. Capitol.
He is one of the few charged Northwest residents who has not been fully prosecuted four years later. Other Oregon men, including at least two others who , have already been convicted for Jan. 6. An Oregon lawmaker who in Salem also faced sanctions.
Medina did not respond to requests for comment. His online post said that Trump鈥檚 second inauguration would 鈥渇ree鈥� him of 鈥渢his psychological prison.鈥�
鈥淚t鈥檚 my turn to go on offense,鈥� he wrote. 鈥淎ccountability will come.鈥�
Some feel contrition
Medina鈥檚 views contrast with Scott Ray Christensen, a real estate agent from Puyallup, Washington, who said he has felt humiliated for participating in the Jan. 6 riots. He called it a 鈥渘ightmare鈥� he frequently relives, even when talking with people who thank him for participating.
鈥淚t鈥檚 not who I am and what I built my name up to be,鈥� Christensen said. 鈥淚 didn鈥檛 do anything to advance our country. A patriot is somebody who goes to war and gives their life 鈥� my great-grandfather in World War I, that鈥檚 a patriot. But a guy in the wrong place at the wrong time? I didn鈥檛 do anything.鈥�
Christensen said he welcomed a pardon to end his parole. He and his wife 鈥� they were both convicted of a misdemeanor for demonstrating in a public building 鈥� had to ask for permission whenever they left King County.
鈥淚t feels surreal,鈥� he said. But he still felt like there was a 鈥渂lack cloud鈥� over his head. 鈥淚鈥檓 never going to gamble on ever putting myself into a situation like that again.鈥�
Christensen said he supported pardons for people who didn鈥檛 act violently. When asked if he supported pardons for those people, he said anybody should be held accountable, regardless of party, for damaging property or hurting law enforcement.
鈥淚n my opinion, if you hit a police officer that鈥檚 doing his job, that鈥檚 not OK. And those consequences deserve to be played out,鈥� Christensen said.
Federal prosecutors said the Christensens entered the Capitol building around 2:43 p.m. 鈥渨ith a large group of rioters who had congregated on the stairs and the landing outside the East Rotunda Door.鈥� The couple 鈥減araded around鈥� the rotunda and took cellphone pictures before leaving. They left the Capitol grounds completely at 5:04 p.m., according to court documents.
While the couple had to pay more than a $1,000 in fines and do community service, other defendants are still feeling the sting of prison sentences.
Dennis George Adams, Jr., of Enumclaw, Washington, said he had already served his 45 days in prison for entering and remaining in a restricted government building, also a misdemeanor.
鈥淚t ain鈥檛 worth the 45 days,鈥� he said when asked to recall the event.
Federal prosecutors said Adams entered the Capitol even as he saw rioters pushing past officers and yelling things like 鈥淚t is your Capitol! Take it!鈥� He entered the building that afternoon, was pushed out by police, and then re-entered 10 minutes later through a broken window.
Adams continues to support Trump but said he is trying to stay away from politics so he can focus on his career in residential construction.
Like Christensen, Adams said a pardon would lift the burden of having to ask permission whenever he travels across county lines, which he does regularly for work.
鈥淚鈥檓 in a good spot where I鈥檓 at,鈥� he said. 鈥淲hatever happens, happens. I鈥檓 working, I鈥檓 staying busy.鈥�
A larger message
While Christensen and Adams appear to be shrinking away from political activism, they are just two of the roughly 50 people from Oregon, Washington or Idaho who participated in Jan. 6, .
Among them are individuals who faced far more serious criminal convictions related to Jan. 6. Ethan Nordean, of Auburn, Washington, was sentenced to 18 years in prison for seditious conspiracy.
Prior to Jan. 6, Nordean became well known in the Pacific Northwest for , like Portland. He was convicted alongside four other Proud Boys, including group leaders Joe Biggs and Enrique Tarrio, who had also previously marched in Portland.
Trump commuted the sentenced for all three men on Monday and ordered them released.
While the Pacific Northwest became fertile ground for groups bent on political violence during the first Trump administration, those groups may have splintered after Jan. 6. Still, Baumgartner said, they and other groups still persist in the region.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 one thing to keep in mind if there鈥檚 some sort of blanket pardon,鈥� Baumgartner said. 鈥淭hose people are let back out into society and we need to keep that in mind.鈥�
Even if presidential pardons revive political street violence during a second administration, Baumgartner added that change wouldn鈥檛 be unique to the Pacific Northwest. It could happen anywhere in the country.