St. Paul, Minn. – Following several hours of debate Thursday, Senator Matt Klein (DFL – Mendota Heights) voted yes on Senate Resolution 15, expressing the Minnesota Senate’s condemnation of President Trump’s pardon of criminal participants of the January 6 insurrection who had been found guilty of violent crimes.
The January 6 insurrection injured more than 140 police officers in what U.S. Attorney Matthew Graves for the District of Columbia called the largest single-day, mass assault of law enforcement officers in our nation’s history. Shortly after being sworn in for his second term, President Trump granted “a full, complete and unconditional pardon to all other individuals convicted of offenses” related to the attack on our democracy on January 6, 2021.
As Senators, we ought to be able to find common ground that a line was crossed by the President’s pardons. As a matter of principle and in defense of our democracy, a President should not be pardoning and exonerating people who violently attack law enforcement and launch insurrection on our democracy,” said Senator Klein. “These pardons gave the green light to these criminals to attack our democracy again. We have all sworn oaths to uphold the Constitutions of Minnesota and the United States. Condemning these pardons was an easy vote today.”
The resolution passed the Senate with all 34 DFL Senators voting Yes, 22 Republicans voting No, and 10 Republicans who did not vote. Following Thursday’s passage, a copy of Senate Resolution 15 will be transmitted to President Trump, and the United States Senate and House.
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