SOURCE :- THE AGE NEWS
By Michael Koziol
Washington: Kevin Loftus received a knock on his cell block door at 11pm, about the same time Donald Trump was dancing on stage with his wife, Melania, at one of Washington’s ritzy inaugural balls.
“They pounded on our cell door with a flashlight and said, ‘Get ready ’cos you’re getting out of here’,” he said.
January 6 participant Kevin Loftus, who was released from prison following Donald Trump’s presidential pardon.Credit: AP
Loftus was one of the many January 6 convicts released from prison in the 24 hours after Trump’s pardon for nearly all 1600 rioters who marched on the US Capitol on that infamous day in 2021 to protest against the results of the 2020 election.
Loftus said he was charged with a misdemeanour for parading and picketing inside the Capitol but spent 82 days behind bars due to a probation violation.
After being released from a Philadelphia prison in the middle of the night, he quickly made his way back to Washington to join a throng of fellow January 6 participants and Trump supporters outside the DC Central Detention Facility to await the release of dozens more felons, or “hostages”, as Trump calls them.
They stood outside the jail for hours in temperatures that peaked at minus 6 degrees. For some, it was their second stint, having come the previous night when the pardons were announced. Despite the cold, it was a carnival atmosphere as they held signs, waved flags and danced to a remix of Y.M.C.A. and the MAGA anthem, Trump Town, by Forgiato Blow.
Some sang along: “Goodbye Joe, it’s time you hit the road, sayonara, end of quote, it’s Trump Town, baby.”
Trump supporters welcome prisoners being released from the DC Central Detention Facility on Tuesday.Credit: AP
At regular intervals, Joshua Macias, who runs an organisation that is assisting veterans convicted of January 6 crimes, updated the crowd on what he was hearing from inside the penitentiary and when they might expect more prisoners to be released.
Macias, who was himself convicted of firearms offences unrelated to the Capitol riots, warned the crowd not to push against fluoro-clad police keeping watch outside the jail. “It will not go well with you. I appreciate your support, and your coverage, but you are not gonna be the first ones to see them, their families will,” he said.
“The families are dying to see their families received back to freedom. We have been fighting too long, we’ve been holding the line. Today is the day of victory. Praise Jesus. Thank you, Lord.”
President Donald Trump supporter and Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes who was convicted on charges relating to the January 6 riots at the US Capitol, talks to reporters after being released.Credit: AP
Nearly 1600 people were convicted of federal crimes relating to the January 6, 2021, march on the US Capitol, which Trump has branded “a day of love”. Trump’s sweeping move pardons almost all offenders and commutes the sentences of 14 others to time served.
While the pardons were expected, for some, the scale came as a surprise. Only a week ago, Vice President J.D. Vance told Fox News that people who committed violence on January 6 “obviously” shouldn’t receive a pardon. And Republican congresswoman Nicole Malliotakis said those who had assaulted police needed to be held accountable. “Each president has a prerogative … I may not agree with all of it,” she told CNN.
But those chanting outside the Washington prison believed every January 6 convict should be freed.
“Nobody really burned anything down or destroyed anything beyond repair,” said Jason Malsack from Wisconsin. “They’ve served their time.”
More than 150 police were injured at the hands of the rioters, including police officer Daniel Hodges, who was violently assaulted by multiple rioters who beat him with his own baton, crushed him with a police shield and tried to gouge out his eyes.
“They brutally attacked me and my colleagues,” he told CNN. “They wanted to stop the peaceful transfer of power. I don’t see why so many of them would deserve a pardon.”
Pamela Nurse was waiting outside the Washington jail to welcome the release of January 6 prisoners.Credit: Michael Koziol
But for those camped outside the jail awaiting the release of their heroes, there is no agreed set of facts about that day. “We really don’t know what happened because we never got the truth out of anybody,” said Susan Jones from Florida. “They’re patriotic Americans that are being held hostage for [the] political gain of the left side.”
Pamela Nurse, of Pennsylvania, said she made it to the steps of the Capitol that day, where she told riot police they were a disgrace and should turn in their badges. “I spent the last four years of my life petrified that they were gonna kick in my door,” she said. “I had to tell my little grandchild an escape route to go hide if they did come.”
Kevin Loftus, the released inmate from Philadelphia, didn’t want to comment on whether the full spectrum of violent offenders should have been pardoned.
“It was President Trump’s decision,” he said. “I’m just happy I got mine. I was not violent. I never went there to fight the police. I’m a Trump guy. Most Trump people back the blue. When I smelled tear gas on the inside of that building, I left because that’s not me.”
with Jessica McSweeney
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