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Colorado House adopts resolution condemning presidential pardons for January 6 defendants
Summary
The Colorado House on Feb. 21 adopted Senate Joint Resolution 6 condemning pardons issued to people convicted in connection with the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. The floor debate lasted several hours and included competing views on pardons, equal justice and the role of state legislatures.
The Colorado House on Feb. 21 adopted Senate Joint Resolution 6, a concurrent resolution condemning pardons issued for people convicted in connection with the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. The resolution passed on a recorded vote of 41-23 with one member excused.
Supporters framed the measure as a defense of democratic norms and a statement against political violence. Representative Camacho moved the resolution and asked that it be read at length. Representative Carter, who spoke for passage, described Jan. 6 as “an attack on our democracy” and argued the pardons “erode the rule of law.”
Opponents called the text politically motivated and said it went beyond the legislature’s role. Representative DeGraaf and other critics said many defendants were prosecuted in ways that raised due-process concerns and that labeling people “insurrectionists” in a legislative resolution risked declaring guilt outside the courts.
Debate included proposed amendments that would have added the name of the president who issued the pardons as a recipient of the resolution and others that would have softened language such as replacing “insurrectionists” with “participants.” Several amendments were defeated in recorded votes before the chamber voted on the resolution itself.
The resolution’s central language recounts events of Jan. 6, 2021; condemns pardons that supporters say undermine the rule of law; and expresses disapproval of dismissals or firings of federal investigators who worked on Jan. 6-related prosecutions. Critics repeatedly urged the House to focus on state business rather than making a federal-political statement.
The House sent the adopted resolution on to the governor and the Senate as a concurrent expression of the General Assembly’s position.
The vote and the lengthy floor debate reflected sharp divisions within the chamber on how to respond to federal action and on the appropriate role of state legislatures in addressing presidential clemency.
Looking ahead, the resolution is a formal expression of the Colorado General Assembly’s position; it does not impose state penalty or change federal clemency power and is symbolic rather than legally binding.
