Gov. JB Pritzker (D-Ill) slammed Donald Trump for pardoning several violent offenders charged in the Jan. 6 Capitol attack.
In an interview on MSNBC’s The Weekend Pritzker said Trump’s decision to pardon the rioters is an “attack” on law enforcement.
“Pardoning January 6th rioters who injured and provided injuries that ultimately killed police officers. That’s an attack on police,” Pritzker said in a clip highlighted by Mediaite.
“When you take away funding like they did this week from police departments across the state of Illinois and across the country, we have task forces that are working on fighting drugs and violent crime and taking out the drug cartels and gangs. When you take away funding from those things, you’re hurting law enforcement and frankly, ultimately leading to more crime, not less,” he continued.
“So I think it’s a reckless set of policies that he’s engaging in,” Pritzker added.
Trump’s decision to pardon Jan. 6 rioters received bipartisan criticism even from some of his most loyal supporters in Congress.
Senator Lindsey Graham, a Republican from South Carolina, said it was a “mistake” to pardon or commute the sentences of “people who went into the Capitol and beat up a police officer violently”.
At least 600 rioters were charged with assaulting or obstructing law enforcement officers in connection with the attack at the US Capitol.
On Thursday, Pritzker blocked Jan.6 rioters from working in state government offices after they were pardoned by Trump.
In a written directive, Pritzker told the Illinois Department of Central Management Services, the state hiring office, that “no one who attempts to overthrow a government should serve in government.”
“These rioters attacked law enforcement officers protecting people in the Capitol, disrupted the peaceful transfer of power, and undermined bedrock principles of American democracy,” Pritzker added. “Our State workforce must reflect the values of Illinois and demonstrate honesty, integrity, and loyalty to serving the taxpayers.”