Ronna McDaniel Says Trump Should Not Pardon January 6 Prisoners Who ‘Attacked The Capitol’

Former Republican National Committee Chair Ronna McDaniel told Meet The Press host Kristen Welker that former President Donald Trump should not pardon January 6 protesters if he is re-elected in November.

“Do you disagree with Trump saying he’s going to free those who’ve been charged?” Welker asked. “I do not think people who committed violent acts on January 6th should be freed,” McDaniel immediately replied before Welker could finish the question.

Welker followed up by asking why McDaniel did not express similar views during her time as RNC chair, pointing to the fact that Trump has campaigned on pardoning January 6 prisoners for months.

“When you’re the RNC chair, you kind of take one for the whole team, right? Now I get to be a little bit more myself, right? This is what I believe,” McDaniel said. ” I don’t think violence should be in our political discourse, Republican or Democrat. And I disagree with that.”

She went on to say that Trump should instead focus on the economy and illegal immigration instead of “freeing people who violently attacked Capitol Hill police officers and attacked the Capitol.”

Trump has vowed to pardon hundreds of January 6 defendants on his first day back in office. To date, more than 1,400 people have been charged with mostly trespassing related misdemeanors conduct during the January 6 protest and minor riot. Roughly 70 percent of those convicted have been sentenced to federal prison terms. For contrast, 99 percent of charges against those who participated the 2020 Black Lives Matter riots were dropped, while the Biden Department of Justice has not pursued cases against those who engaged in violent conduct at the White House, courthouses and other federal buildings.

For January 6 participants, the Biden DOJ has been rounding up protesters for four years. The department has used cell phone data to locate possible defendants and oftentimes subjected them to armed FBI raids before they are slapped with multiple felony and misdemeanor charges.

Elsewhere in the Meet The Press interview — which drew the ire of leftists and former host Chuck Todd — McDaniel walked back previous scrutiny of the 2020 election results.

“Can you say as you sit here today, did Joe Biden win the election fair and square?” Welker agreed. McDaniel immediately replied with “he won, he’s the legitimate president. Fair and square he won, it’s certified, it’s done.”