President Donald Trump’s decision this week to pardon hundreds of people facing charges related to the unrest at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, received a wide range of reactions in the Susquehanna Valley, with those facing prosecution welcoming the development but disappointment from others who said it attacked the legitimacy of the legal system.The presidential pardons affected a number of Pennsylvanians who were charged in the aftermath of the Capitol riot, including former Lebanon County police officer Joseph Fischer, who said he was anticipating Trump may wipe away the charges after winning a non-consecutive second term in office after the 2024 election.”It was a pretty good feeling,” he said.Fischer, who was previously employed with the North Cornwall police department, was prepared to go to trial in February but maintained in an interview on Wednesday that he felt he wasn’t guilty of the charges.”There was nothing that couldn’t be explained. Anything that was a crime was the minimum. I never thought I’d be arrested,” he said.Fischer’s public defender, Lori Ulrich, who also represented a woman formerly living in the Harrisburg area charged in connection to Jan. 6, said the unrest should not have happened but had one specific criticism of the prosecution in those cases.”Not that they were wrong in bringing them, but I really think they exaggerated their roles,” he said.The blanket pardons were roundly criticized, though, by former federal district judge and current Dickinson College President John Jones.Jones said he believed Trump’s decision to wipe away consequences for those who committed criminal acts impugned the integrity of the legal system and laws in the United States.”I think at this point, painting with a broad brush with this scope is beyond the pale,” he said. “I think it tears at the fabric of our democracy and laws and system of justice. It’s too much.”
President Donald Trump’s decision this week to pardon hundreds of people facing charges related to the unrest at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, received a wide range of reactions in the Susquehanna Valley, with those facing prosecution welcoming the development but disappointment from others who said it attacked the legitimacy of the legal system.
The presidential pardons affected a number of Pennsylvanians who were charged in the aftermath of the Capitol riot, including former Lebanon County police officer Joseph Fischer, who said he was anticipating Trump may wipe away the charges after winning a non-consecutive second term in office after the 2024 election.
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“It was a pretty good feeling,” he said.
Fischer, who was previously employed with the North Cornwall police department, was prepared to go to trial in February but maintained in an interview on Wednesday that he felt he wasn’t guilty of the charges.
“There was nothing that couldn’t be explained. Anything that was a crime was the minimum. I never thought I’d be arrested,” he said.
Fischer’s public defender, Lori Ulrich, who also represented a woman formerly living in the Harrisburg area charged in connection to Jan. 6, said the unrest should not have happened but had one specific criticism of the prosecution in those cases.
“Not that they were wrong in bringing them, but I really think they exaggerated their roles,” he said.
The blanket pardons were roundly criticized, though, by former federal district judge and current Dickinson College President John Jones.
Jones said he believed Trump’s decision to wipe away consequences for those who committed criminal acts impugned the integrity of the legal system and laws in the United States.
“I think at this point, painting with a broad brush with this scope is beyond the pale,” he said. “I think it tears at the fabric of our democracy and laws and system of justice. It’s too much.”
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