Rantz: Here’s what left-wing media choose to ignore after Jan. 6 mass pardons, commutations
Jan 21, 2025, 11:55 AM

Robert Morss speaks with press after being released last night after his sentence of 66 months was pardoned on January 21, 2025 at the DC Central Detention Facility in Washington, DC. (Photo: Kayla Bartkowski, Getty Images)
(Photo: Kayla Bartkowski, Getty Images)
President Donald Trump fulfilled his campaign promise to pardon or commute the sentences of individuals involved in the January 6 riot at the Capitol, including 30 from Washington.
Despite Trump’s long-standing pledge, left-wing media continues to spin their reaction and analysis in bad faith. Their talking points, amplifying Democrat lawmakers, paint Jan. 6 as an apocalyptic assault on democracy — one where rioters supposedly murdered police officers and staged an armed insurrection. These claims are demonstrably false. It was not an “insurrection,” which is a term only used to satisfy a political agenda. What occurred was, indeed, a disgraceful riot, and those who broke the law deserved legal consequences.
Critics of Trump’s pardons and conservative defenses of some Jan. 6 defendants often fail — or refuse — to understand the reasoning behind these actions. But the explanation is both simple and important.
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Why are some January 6 rioters being defended by Trump? Why pardons and commutations?
Conservative frustration over the treatment of some Jan. 6 defendants stems from the blatant double standard in how justice is applied. Ironically, many of the same Democrats now decrying pardons and commutations for these individuals were openly supportive of riots that claimed to challenge the very same “unequal criminal justice system” they now defend.
Justice is supposed to be blind, yet the Biden administration focused its efforts on aggressively pursuing anyone who came within 100 feet of the Capitol that day — even those merely observing the chaos or leaving when things escalated. People who attended Trump’s speech but departed long before the riot began were still questioned by law enforcement, targeted by partisan media outlets and shamed by their employers, who caved under pressure from the Radical Left.
Meanwhile, violent crimes committed by left-wing extremists or individuals who Democrats deem politically useful were met with silence or leniency from the very same officials tasked with upholding justice. This selective enforcement is what drives outrage from conservatives who saw a justice system that caters more to ideology than equality for the last four years.
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Antifa violence? What Antifa violence?
After months of left-wing violence in the name of Black Lives Matter (BLM) — where people were murdered, cops were assaulted, buildings burned to the ground and businesses looted — the Biden administration, Democrats and left-wing media outlets remained largely silent. Looters weren’t prosecuted; many were released without charges. Vandals were ignored, and those who committed assaults were either let go or never pursued in the first place.
Local and national media downplayed or outright ignored the violence carried out by BLM radicals and Antifa. Despite clear evidence — burning buildings, videos of attacks on law enforcement, and photos of Antifa symbols proudly displayed by domestic terrorists — left-wing narratives insisted Antifa either didn’t exist or was justified in their “direct actions.” Lawmakers like Rep. Jerry Nadler dismissed Antifa’s existence as a “myth,” while then-CNN host Don Lemon shamelessly defended the riots as appropriate.
In Seattle, Tacoma and Portland, the violence was undeniable. Former Fox 13 reporter Brandi Kruse was assaulted, and even the KING 5 headquarters was targeted. Yet local outlets refused to acknowledge Antifa’s involvement, even as extremists openly wore Antifa insignias and chanted “Antifa.”
I documented this chaos in a book filled with my experiences covering the violence, detailing the destruction these groups wrought across the Pacific Northwest. But instead of acknowledging the truth, the Left told the nation that none of it was happening. It was gaslighting on a national scale, designed to protect their narrative and shield their allies from accountability.
Politically targeted rioters
Why is it that anyone remotely associated with the Jan. 6 riots was harshly targeted and prosecuted, while Antifa and BLM violence was virtually ignored? Why can someone drive a stolen car through a pot shop and walk away with a slap on the wrist — or no charges at all — while stepping foot near the Capitol on Jan. 6 lands you in jail?
The answer is simple: violence committed in the name of Democrats is tolerated.
Those calling themselves “The Resistance,” even when their actions were violent, were glorified. Meanwhile, if the suspect wasn’t a white, cisgender, heterosexual conservative, Democrats and their allies in the media bent over backward to excuse the crimes. The double standard is glaringly obvious.
Joe Biden’s administration has openly prioritized protecting its own. He preemptively pardons his family members, and yet we’re supposed to clutch our pearls over Trump commuting or pardoning Jan. 6 defendants — many of whom have already served time or are still in jail? The hypocrisy is staggering. Biden commuted the sentence of a man convicted of murdering two FBI agents, and the left-wing media barely blinked. Seattle Democrat Pramila Jayapal even celebrated it.
Prosecutors sought to jail a 72-year-old grandmother for 10 months over a Jan. 6 misdemeanor, yet Trump is painted as the villain for standing up to the absurdity. Democrats don’t even go that hard after violent felons in their twenties.
The double standard isn’t just obvious; it’s offensive.
Trump was mostly right to pardon or commute some January 6 rioters
While I oppose pardoning or commuting the sentences of anyone who attacked Capitol Police, I can’t muster outrage over commuting the sentences of individuals currently suffering jail time for far less serious offenses — especially in the context of Biden’s Department of Justice treating them more harshly simply because they’re conservative.
If you truly want to understand why some conservatives defend certain Jan. 6 rioters, look no further than the glaring double standard in how Democrats handle political violence. They go easy on criminals unless those criminals happen to lean right. It’s no wonder conservatives are outraged. If Democrats hadn’t spent the last four years soft-pedaling left-wing violence, there would be far less defense of the Jan. 6 rioters.
Jan. 6 rioters faced jail time, had their lives upended, and were relentlessly smeared. Many, rightly so. Meanwhile, Antifa thugs and BLM radicals were celebrated as heroes, and most never even saw the inside of a courtroom. All political violence deserves to be treated with equal seriousness. Until that happens, we’ll continue to see hyper-targeting of suspects based on their political leanings, followed by partisan pardons and commutations.
If someone takes issue with this reality, there’s a simple solution: Demand that violence from the Left and the Right be addressed with the seriousness it deserves. Equal justice shouldn’t be a partisan issue.
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