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Nevada lawmakers hear hours of testimony for and against AJR 14, a resolution condemning Jan. 6 and recent pardons
Summary
Assembly Joint Resolution 14, introduced by Assembly Speaker Steve Yeager, drew dozens of public commenters on both sides at a Senate Committee on Legislative Operations and Elections hearing. Supporters emphasized injury to Capitol police; opponents called the measure partisan and divisive. No vote was recorded at the hearing.
Assembly Speaker Steve Yeager appeared before the Senate Committee on Legislative Operations and Elections to present Assembly Joint Resolution 14, a nonbinding measure condemning the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol and criticizing the pardons and commutations issued on Jan. 20, 2025.
Yeager opened the hearing by saying the Jan. 6, 2021, breach was "an attack on the rule of law" and described the pardons as reckless: "That action, chair and members of the committee, was a slap to the face to law enforcement and to the principles of law and order." He said "pardons and commutations of roughly 1,500 insurrectionists" were issued on Jan. 20, 2025.
Yeager also played video testimony from Capitol Police officer Harry Dunn, who described the physical and moral toll on officers and urged public officials to speak out. In the recording Dunn said, "Police officers were attacked, and that is not okay." He described officers living with “moral injuries” from the day and said the pardons were issued in a manner he called "reckless." Yeager told the committee he was presenting the resolution to ensure the events were not "whitewashed."
Dozens of members of the public testified after Yeager’s presentation. Those opposing the resolution argued it inflames political division and failed to consider differing motives of those present at the Capitol. Joshua Skaggs, legislative affairs director for the Nevada Republican Party, testified: "AJR 14 further polarizes our politics and puts Americans who support president Trump in physical danger." Others who opposed the resolution — including several self-identified independents and Republicans — told the committee they believed the resolution unfairly condemned all attendees and ignored questions about law enforcement actions that day. Nancy Carlson, who said she attended Jan. 6, told the committee, "President Trump did not organize this event... Violence was never... incited by President Trump at any time during his speech at the Ellipse Field."
Speakers who urged support framed the resolution as acknowledgement of harm to law enforcement and a rebuke of the blanket pardons. Yeager cited published statements by law enforcement organizations condemning the pardons as undermining the rule of law. In the video brought by Yeager, Harry Dunn described officers who "took their own lives in the aftermath of it," and said repeated pardons risked erasing the historical record.
Committee chair and members did not take a vote during the hearing. The committee moved afterward to take up other bills on the agenda. The hearing record will include submitted written testimony and the video shown by Yeager.
Supporting and opposing testimony covered a mixture of factual claims, personal recollections and policy arguments. Committee members asked no extended questions of the sponsor after the video; the hearing closed after public testimony and no formal committee action occurred during the session.
The committee clerk confirmed public comment limits and logistical rules at the start of the hearing; the posted record will contain the written submissions and the video excerpt from the prior Assembly hearing that Yeager played.
Ending: If the resolution moves forward through committee, any forthcoming hearings or votes will be reflected in subsequent committee minutes and the legislative record.
