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Rules committee adopts resolution condemning pardons for Jan. 6 convictions
Summary
The committee passed Senate Resolution 15, condemning presidential pardons issued for people convicted in connection with the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol attack; it adopted an amendment narrowing the resolution and passed the final resolution by voice vote.
The Minnesota Senate Committee on Rules and Administration on March 24 passed Senate Resolution 15 condemning the presidential pardons issued to individuals convicted in connection with the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol.
Senator Latz, presenting the resolution, described the events of Jan. 6, 2021, and cited convictions from the ensuing federal investigation. He said more than 1,500 people were convicted and "400 of them for violent crimes," adding that one police officer died and four others later took their own lives. Latz said the presidential pardons issued on Jan. 20, 2025, had “the effect ... of green lighting or saying it was okay that these crimes occurred.”
Senator Pappas moved and the committee adopted an A3 amendment that deleted a resolve clause referencing judicial decisions; Pappas said she believed the deletion kept the resolution focused on the pardons. During discussion, Senator Pappas acknowledged that "there might be a justification for some pardons for people who had short sentences" but said pardoning those who attacked police officers was inappropriate.
Leader Johnson and Senator Coleman both spoke during debate. Leader Johnson criticized spending time on the resolution instead of budget and public safety legislation, calling the measure a partisan distraction. Senator Coleman, the daughter of an on-duty sheriff's deputy, said she condemned violence against law enforcement and expressed concern about rising partisanship.
After discussion the committee voted by voice to adopt the amendment and then to recommend the resolution to pass as amended; the resolution was recorded as passed. The transcript records voice votes and a single recorded "no" during one vote sequence, but the final roll-call tallies were not specified in the record.
The resolution expresses the Senate's condemnation of the pardons of individuals convicted in connection with the Jan. 6 attack; it does not create a statutory change nor does it require state action. Sponsors said the resolution is a statement of values intended to condemn violence against law enforcement and to call out extraordinary use of the pardon power.
