
Since the riot on Capitol Hill four years ago, President-elect Donald Trump and his allies have set out to sanitize the events of that day, changing it from a day of violence into, in Mr. Trump’s words, a day of love. As he prepares to take office for his second term, Mr. Trump said he plans to issue pardons to some of those responsible, throwing hundreds of criminal cases into doubt. Alan Feuer, a reporter covering extremism and political violence for The New York Times, talks to one of those rioters and explains how the pardons could help rewrite the story of what happened on Jan. 6.
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Sabrina Tavernisi
I'm Sabrina Tavernisi, and this is the Daily.
Alan Foyer
Capitol.
Sabrina Tavernisi
Since the riot on Capitol Hill four years ago, they were peaceful.
Alan Foyer
They were orderly and meek. These were not insurrectionists. They were sightseers.
Sabrina Tavernisi
President elect Donald Trump and his allies have set out to sanitize the events of that day.
Alan Foyer
They're not destroying the Capitol. They obviously revere the Capitol, changing it.
Sabrina Tavernisi
From a day of violence into, in.
Alan Foyer
Trump's words, that was a day of love.
Sabrina Tavernisi
A day of love.
Alan Foyer
And it was love and peace.
Sabrina Tavernisi
As he prepares to take office for his second term, Trump said he plans to issue pardons to some of those responsible, throwing hundreds of criminal cases into doubt.
Alan Foyer
As everyone knows, it will be my great honor to pardon the peaceful January 6th protesters, or as I often call them, the hostages. They're hostages.
Sabrina Tavernisi
Today, my colleague Alan Foyer talks to one of those rioters and explains how the pardons could help rewrite the story of what happened on January 6th. It's Monday, January 6th. Alan, welcome back to the show.
Alan Foyer
Thanks for having me.
Sabrina Tavernisi
So, Alan, it's been exactly four years since January 6th. You've been our guide for understanding that day and the legal consequences for those involved. Donald Trump's win, of course, throws those consequences into doubt. But before we get to how this landscape might all be about to change, let's start with the basics. So as of today, January 6, 2025, give us a summary of where things stand with the legal cases of the people who participated.
Alan Foyer
Sure. So this has been really my full time job since January 6, 2021. And just to take a quick detour here, there's not just the criminal cases that we're talking about. There are other efforts that have taken place to kind of figure out what happened on January 6th. Let's not forget Donald Trump's second impeachment was all about his role in inciting the riot at the Capitol. There was a very expansive congressional investigation into this. And then, of course, there's what you're talking about, the Justice Department's criminal cases that have been brought with regard to January 6th. And that is the largest single investigation in the history of the Justice Department.
Sabrina Tavernisi
Wow. Interesting.
Alan Foyer
Yeah. And this has involved enormous amounts of visual evidence and witness evidence and the cell phone seized and tips from ordinary people around the country. It's really been an unprecedented and a massive undertaking by federal prosecutors. So at the moment, we have about 1600 people who are facing criminal charges, and of those most. So a little over a thousand have either gone to trial or pled guilty. But what's been most remarkable about all of this is that of the more than 200 people who have gone to trial, only two have been acquitted fully. So when you look at this, overall, the criminal justice system has rendered a pretty clear verdict about what happened on January 6. It was a day of violence in an attempt to impede a central act of American democracy that resulted in more than 140 police officers being injured and also led to the deaths of four protesters.
Sabrina Tavernisi
And yet, despite all of those efforts, despite that very clear verdict, to really make a historical record and to bring to account those who were responsible, here we are right four years later. And all of that is in doubt because President elect Donald Trump has a very different version of what happened on that day. And he's promised on day one of his presidency, he said that he will pardon January 6th defendants on a case by case basis. In fact, he said within the first hour of his presidency he'd do that. So we come to you again today, Allan, to help us understand that and. And what the consequences would be if it happens.
Alan Foyer
Yeah, I. I've been trying to understand that myself. I mean, let's think back here. You might remember that immediately after the attack, Donald Trump called January 6th, and I'm quoting, a heinous attack on the United States Capitol, and he promised that all the lawbreakers that day would pay. But as I followed this story, I've watched that not only has Trump changed that narrative, changed his position on it, but that he's done so almost in a kind of private dialogue with the rioters themselves. Collectively, it's as if they've come up with an alternate reality to explain what happened on January 6th. And at least for me, I found that if you want to understand that other reality and all of the really important legal and political implications that emerge from it, you kind of have to get inside the dialogue that Trump was having with the January 6th rioters first. Now, look, I mean, I found that most people who have been charged in these cases are not willing to do long on the record interviews. But I did meet One guy who was willing to kind of sit down and walk me through his whole story with the idea of, hey, what's going to happen if and when Trump issues pardons? Hi, Anthony.
Anthony Vo
Hi, Alan. Hi.
Alan Foyer
His name is Anthony Vo.
Anthony Vo
I am currently 32 years old.
Alan Foyer
He's kind of a young guy. He's from Indiana, and he entered the Capitol on January 6th. Didn't hurt anyone, didn't break anything, and he was ultimately convicted at trial of four low level misdemeanors, including disorderly conduct. So in that way, he's actually pretty typical of most January 6th defendants, the majority of whom were charged with only relatively minor offenses. Except for one thing.
Anthony Vo
I am currently seeking refuge from the current United States government.
Alan Foyer
He's on the run from the law. Yeah, like, he's on the lam. He was supposed to report to prison after he got sentenced, and he just didn't. He skipped.
Sabrina Tavernisi
Wow, that's wild. Alan, do you normally talk to people who are on the run from the law?
Alan Foyer
That's happened a couple of times.
Sabrina Tavernisi
Okay, so tell me more about Anthony.
Alan Foyer
Sure.
Anthony Vo
I am a family of Vietnamese immigrants. They all came over legally from Vietnam as a result.
Alan Foyer
So Anthony's father fought alongside US Troops during the war against the Viet Cong. And after the war, his family emigrated to the United States, and Anthony was born here.
Anthony Vo
Never like, partisan or anything like that. We just love this country and, you know, the freedom and everything else that it symbolized for us.
Alan Foyer
Coming from Vietnam, his background might sound kind of surprising, but actually he's got a pretty typical story for a Trump supporter.
Anthony Vo
He gave me that persecution complex which made me started paying attention to him.
Alan Foyer
He saw Trump as an outsider candidate in 2015.
Anthony Vo
They accuse him of being, like, sexist, racist, all these different things.
Alan Foyer
He doesn't trust the mainstream media.
Anthony Vo
Like, hang on, what's going on? Why is the media, like, all seemingly coordinating against Trump with all these, like, demonstrably false headlines that are all out of context? If you just, like, look into it.
Alan Foyer
A little bit more and flash forwarding to the 2020 election, election night arrives. And as we saw with a lot of Trump supporters, Anthony does not believe it's true.
Anthony Vo
You know, oh, new votes came in or whatever. Oh, man, there's like a lot of gaming potential with these mail on ballots. There's a lot of, like, security gaps. Like Pennsylvania, they illegally changed the voting deadlines. No signature verification was done for these ballots. So many different things, like, made me suspicious.
Alan Foyer
He's just steeped in this world of election conspiracy theories. Not that he would See it that way.
Anthony Vo
It kind of, like, made me look for some sort of opportunity to do something about it. And I think in, like, December, they were talking about the Stop the Steal rally. Like, oh, you can come.
Alan Foyer
He ultimately finds out that there's going to be a pro Trump Stop the Steal rally in Washington on January 6th. And he's like, yes, my mom and I heeded the call and I want to be there. His family wants to go with him.
Anthony Vo
Basically, we're just there to, like, make sure it was legit.
Alan Foyer
And he ends up joining a group of Vietnamese rally goers.
Anthony Vo
People are giving out, like, Vietnamese banh mi sandwiches to everyone. It was just like a excited fervor, I would say.
Alan Foyer
And so Anthony and his mom follow the crowd, and as he gets closer to the Capitol building itself, he notices people trying to go over the fence. But to him, at that point, it doesn't really seem violent.
Anthony Vo
You would hear booms, and every so often, you might smell some spice in the air. But, like, I never saw anything untoward in there.
Alan Foyer
And he ends up just walking with his mom right into the Capitol building.
Anthony Vo
I remember my mom and I were just sitting on this bench, and we're observing this guy named Colonia Regalia. He was playing the flute, Amazing Grace on the flute. People were just, like, sitting around watching.
Alan Foyer
Him, and they have never been inside the Capitol before, and it's quite a moving experience for them.
Anthony Vo
When I walked in, it felt like a religious experience, like the Rotunda dome. I find out later it's inspired by the same dome in St. Peter's Basilica. And going, you know, I was just like a wash with, like, wow, this is glorious.
Sabrina Tavernisi
So, Alan, I was actually in the Capitol that day as well. I was covering this event for the Times. I had walked with the crowd to the Capitol and then inside the Capitol with the rioters. And, you know, it was an interesting split screen because I saw people walking around kind of just like in awe, as you're describing Anthony doing, you know, with selfie sticks, sitting in chairs, laughing, kind of like they were tourists at a tour of Capitol Hill. But then I also saw people breaking windows. Obviously, there was a lot of violence there that day. And, you know, it just allowed everyone to emerge with their own story of what happened that day. Like, everyone had their own narrative, which for them was true. And it sounds like Anthony had his own narrative.
Alan Foyer
Yeah, yeah. I would agree with you entirely that not one thing happened on January 6. A lot of different things happened on January 6. But even the people who saw themselves as Peaceful protesters contributed in some part to the larger chaos of what was essentially a riot that culminated in this historic and violent result. But, yes, Anthony had his own very particular story and version of events.
Anthony Vo
I felt like it was a situation where, like, normally you wouldn't be allowed here, but I thought that this was, like, a very special opportunity that we earned to be able to exercise our rights, like the end of V for Vendetta. Like, obviously, normally those people wouldn't be allowed to, like, do what they're doing, like assemble and whatever in front of their parliament. But by massing together peacefully, from my eyes, they were able to make their voices heard.
Alan Foyer
In his mind, what he was doing was this kind of expression of democracy. He was out there petitioning the government. Right. He wanted redress for his grievances.
Sabrina Tavernisi
Right.
Alan Foyer
That's how he saw it. And I will never forget having read the FBI interview of one rioter who actually was quite violent. But at the key moment, at the height of this interview, the guy kind of breaks down crying and tells these federal agents, I thought I was the good guy that day. So Anthony, his mom stay for, like, 20, 30 minutes. And so basically, they're kicked out by a Capitol Police officer. Guy's like, gotta go. And they do. They leave the building, and they eventually make their way to the D.C. metro.
Anthony Vo
You know, I see, like, the first, like, bits of news coming through my phone, like, all the initial headlines like, rioters storm the Capitol. Rioters, like, block the vote or whatever. And all these things, like, they kind of caught me by surprise.
Alan Foyer
So, like, and he's getting the news in real time from his phone about busted windows and beat up cops and, you know, like, the real beat up bad stuff, terrible stuff that happened that day. And frankly, he says that he's shocked about all that because it didn't match his sort of personal window right on January 6th.
Anthony Vo
So, like, when I was, like, reacting to it with friends on, like, social media, DMS and such, I was basically mocking media about, like, oh, yeah, we stormed the Capitol. It was like we walk right in. Like, you know, I thought it was, like, just, like, over the top embellishment. So I was just, like, having fun with it.
Alan Foyer
As you learned more about the day, did your feeling towards the day change in any measurable or important way?
Anthony Vo
I did think that people were starting to say, like, this is, like, a big setup or whatever. And, you know, it did seem to, like, be that way.
Alan Foyer
And what starts to happen is that not only does he cling to the idea that January 6th was not a violent event, but in fact, he begins to develop this idea that all the violence that took place that day was the fault of others, not the rioters. It was police brutality. Or maybe this was all kind of a setup to begin with. Right. Was the federal government itself not setting security perimeters in the right way? You know, like, where's the National Guard? And these questions began to make him doubt the culpability, like, who's responsible for the violence?
Sabrina Tavernisi
So despite the footage of the violence around the Capitol that day, Anthony is kind of sorting through it all and landing on a pretty different version of events, namely that the whole thing had been set up.
Alan Foyer
Yes, and that's quite common belief among January 6th defendants. And, you know, in the year after the attack, it really took hold in the broader right wing media.
Sabrina Tavernisi
Okay, so we know that's not the end of Anthony's story because he does eventually get arrested. When does that actually happen?
Alan Foyer
It's about six months later. And he is picked up by a local FBI field office in Indiana.
Anthony Vo
I think the first thing I said to, like, the officers was like, ah, you got me. And I remember, like, kind of thinking out loud to the two interviewing agents as I was like, you know, going through the paperwork and such. I was like, how can I beat this?
Alan Foyer
And so he ultimately goes to trial. He chooses to sort of put the government to his test.
Anthony Vo
You know, I was like, staring into the mouths of a kangaroo court. But I just felt like I had to go with that anyway.
Alan Foyer
And during the trial, prosecutors end up citing text messages that Anthony sent after the six, saying things like, oh, the cops had it easy that day, and it would be easy to go back to the Capitol armed. He also makes a decision to attend a vigil that has been going on at the local Washington jail for years now. And that's where many of the most violent January 6th defendants are being held on pretrial detention. It's called the Freedom Corner.
Anthony Vo
So I just wanted to go there and support the people that were stuck behind bars awaiting their trial that they haven't even received yet, suffering through, like, God knows what conditions.
Alan Foyer
And you have people who are flying flags and eating snacks, and they often call into the jail to talk to the inmates, and they livestream stream broadcasts with these inmates.
Anthony Vo
But, like, sleuths or whatever, like, on the live streams, like, started reporting me. And then I think by Anthony is.
Alan Foyer
Not supposed to associate himself with any other January 6th defendants or, you know, people in that community. And so that decision on his part really irks Judge Tanya Chutkin. Who is probably best known for having been the judge who was assigned to Trump's own January 6th case. And she really kind of lays into Anthony about this particular issue. So when it comes to the moment of, okay, he's been found guilty, and now what's your sentence? She ends up sentencing him to nine months in prison, which is, as far as these misdemeanor cases go. It's on the high end.
Sabrina Tavernisi
But, of course, we know that he doesn't ultimately report for his sentence.
Alan Foyer
That's right. He decides, you know, it doesn't matter what the judge has said or what the law says. He's not turning himself in for what is supposed to be his date in June to start serving his prison term.
Anthony Vo
A couple of my heroes were, like, Edward Snowden, Julian Assange, like, all these people that had to, you know, flee to, like, find safety or whatever.
Alan Foyer
And yet there's one more thing that's informing Anthony's decision. Trump has started campaigning explicitly on a promise to pardon the January 6th rioters.
Anthony Vo
Yeah, like, I remember, like, of him, like, starting out campaign rally speeches, whatever, with the January 6th Prisoner's Choir reciting the national anthem.
Alan Foyer
In fact, at the very first official rally that Trump holds for his reelection campaign, he takes the stage to a recording of the national anthem being performed by. By a choir of January 6th inmates. These are people who are in prison in Washington, D.C. for crimes they committed on January 6th. Well, thank you very much. And you see the spirit from the hostages, and that's what they are as hostages.
Anthony Vo
Yeah. I remember hearing, like, you know, we're. We're like, we're political hostages.
Alan Foyer
He's calling them hostages. He's calling them political prisoners.
Anthony Vo
We're being very unfairly treated by the weaponized justice system as he has been as well. Who would promise to, like, pardon the.
Alan Foyer
Political prisoners the first day we get into office? We're going to save our country. We're going to work with the people to treat those unbelievable patriots. And they were unbelievable patriots and are.
Sabrina Tavernisi
And Anthony is hearing that message and thinking it's meant for him. Like, Trump is speaking to him.
Alan Foyer
Yeah. The Republican candidate for president is essentially validating Anthony's version of events. And he thinks to himself, why should I report to prison? I think I can get a pardon. Of course, what happens next is that Trump wins the election.
Anthony Vo
To me, it was like, I guess, light at the end of the tunnel. I was crying happy tears that night. In the next few days afterwards, and.
Alan Foyer
There'S this tidal wave of optimism among the January 6th defendants and their families at the Freedom Corner, that vigil outside the jail that Anthony attended. They pop champagne bottles on election night, and you just saw this whole community being absolutely certain that Donald Trump was going to ride to their rescue and save them.
Anthony Vo
When I first got arrested, I kind of knew that this is a thing that's going to be a process. Like it's going to take a lot of time, a lot of things to happen for the tide to turn. And it was just going to take a lot of patience and a lot of work to be able to, you know, overcome it. But I think we're all, like, stronger for it now.
Sabrina Tavernisi
We'll be right back.
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Alan Foyer
I mean, basically it is the presidential pardon. Power is enormous. You know, Trump would just sort of write up an executive order or sign a Document, and poof, it's done like magic. Yeah. And so the debate now is really about the scope of the pardons that Trump is going to do. You know, is he going to issue a total blanket issue amnesty, or is it going to be sort of more targeted to people like Anthony who are sort of nonviolent, low level misdemeanor defendants, and they're going to involve not just a sort of question of logistics, but really a political question. And that's how much of a hit does he want to really take if he's going to issue pardons to people who say, you know, hit a cop on the head with a two by four or maybe even more so, issue pardons to members of far right groups like the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers, who were found guilty of seditious conspiracy.
Sabrina Tavernisi
And do we have any indication of which way Trump is going to go?
Alan Foyer
That's the problem with Trump. No, of course not. There's recent polling that suggests that a majority of this country is not interested in pardoning January 6th defendants. But there's this debate that has been sort of raging both on the outside. Right. There's advocates for the family members, and then that is sort of seeped into Trump's inner circle. And I wouldn't want to call it either way at this point.
Sabrina Tavernisi
Right. And as you're saying, it could all happen with a stroke of a pen.
Alan Foyer
Absolutely.
Sabrina Tavernisi
Alan. It's pretty remarkable that with all of this prosecutorial work that's gone into this to hold hundreds of people to account, all of this would be thrown out. And, you know, of course, that's important in its own right, but it does really set up the potential for a broader meaning here. Like, for example, what does it do to public trust in the legal system?
Alan Foyer
Oh, I think it would be quite destructive to the notion of the rule of law. Like I said, this is the largest investigation that the federal prosecutors have undertaken since the department was created in 1870.
Sabrina Tavernisi
Amazing.
Alan Foyer
And so to sort of, depending on the scope of these pardons, to sort of undo all that work in an eye blink, it'll be, you know, somewhere between a gut punch and the rug being pulled out from under you. You know, choose your metaphor. And I think it could have a quite corrosive effect on trust in the system.
Sabrina Tavernisi
Right. And of course, there's another piece here which we've kind of touched on, but I want to bring back in front of people, which is the story of what happened that day. Right. So to what extent do these pardons actually help the people who participated and helped the president rewrite the story of what happened on January 6th.
Alan Foyer
Well, see, that's the remarkable thing. So, from Trump's point of view and from the defendant's point of view, these pardons will not be a sort of attack on the rule of law. They will be an upholding of the rule of law, because these prosecutions, from their point of view, have been deemed unjust from the outset. And so if Trump does pardon these defendants, it will be his opportunity to kind of rewrite the entire story of what the Justice Department has been doing over the past four years, and he will be able to sort of revise the story of the Justice Department seeking accountability for an attack on American democracy into positioning the Justice Department as the villains who are out to destroy democracy, in essence. And so it's going to allow Trump to both have the imprimatur of the presidency to declare that, hey, no crimes were committed at all that day, or at least it's going to allow him to sort of legally wash away the sins of many of the people who are involved in them.
Sabrina Tavernisi
But the crazy thing is, we have this whole record. I mean, beyond the prosecutions, we have all of these videos. We have this body cam stuff. You know, in the modern Internet age, there's a record. So can the narrative just be flipped like that?
Alan Foyer
No. So you're absolutely right. In this Internet age, there's tens of thousands of hours of January 6th video out there. And in fact, there are people who have been intimately involved in scouring and cataloging that video who are right now making sure that it doesn't disappear, that that record, that bulwark of reality exists. We've also seen in recent weeks, some of the federal judges in Washington who have heard these cases and know them better than anyone have kind of stood up in public in written and oral rulings against the idea that January 6th was a nothing event. They have defended the seriousness of that day in quite remarkable public utterances.
Sabrina Tavernisi
Interesting.
Alan Foyer
Actually, let me read one right here. It's from a sentencing memo by a judge named Royce Lamberth, who was actually a conservative Republican appointed by Ronald Reagan. It says, I have been dismayed to see distortions and outright falsehoods seep into the public consciousness. I have been shocked to watch some public figures try to rewrite history, claiming rioters behaved in, quote, an orderly fashion, unquote, like ordinary tourists, or Martyrizing Convicted January 6th defendants as political prisoners or even, incredibly, hostages. That is all preposterous. But at the same time, yes, we live in a siloed information world where people sort of see what they want to see. And so there will now be a bubble that exists that, you know, sort of has the stamp of approval from the president on it that nothing bad happened on January 6th.
Sabrina Tavernisi
Alan, it's really incredible to be watching this happen in the United States. I know comparisons are tricky, but I spent a lot of my early career in Russia, and that's a place that's really quite expert at whitewashing and just having an alternative reality version of history. You know, Stalin is seen by many in Russia as the leader who made Russia great. And the fact that millions of people died of starvation and in mass executions, that's just not the dominant story or really part of the story at all at this point, in part because people don't want to see it that way. So this all feels very familiar to me in quite an eerie way.
Alan Foyer
I mean, look, we don't know what's going to be the final verdict about all of this, but there is a kind of Soviet aspect to sort of erasing all of this. Right. That is not how the January 6th defendants obviously see it. They see this as the lifting almost of Soviet oppression on them. And so that's why there has been this tug of war all along. Now, who's going to win that war, and which version will eventually sort of emerge as victorious? I don't know. That's above my pay grade. But these tensions about the meaning of January 6th have been there, and there are practical ramifications to all of this. I think a lot of what the erasure or revision of the January 6th story could do for Trump is that it's not only going to diminish the culpability of his supporters who are involved in the attack, or, of course, diminish his own culpability, but it could do something else. It could provide him with the kind of ideological ground to move forward into fulfilling his own promises to seek revenge on those of his enemies who took part in the attempts to hold him accountable for January 6th.
Sabrina Tavernisi
And that's already starting to happen, right?
Alan Foyer
It's absolutely already starting to happen. Just recently, Trump's congressional allies released a report recommending that Liz Cheney, the former Wyoming congresswoman who was the vice chair of the January 6th committee that recommended that Trump be charged with crimes in connection with January 6th, should herself face an FBI investigation. And, you know, Trump is also seeking to install loyalists in the FBI and the Justice Department who may indeed carry that out in the end. I mean, I think these things are not unrelated when you position yourself as the victim, you then have the moral standing to seek retribution against your enemies. If you rewrite the history of what happened on January 6, it allows you to change the heroes to villains, the villains to heroes. I mean, Anthony is certainly well aware of this. After our interview, he told me he's now in Canada. He's formally asked for asylum there. But he's also kind of just biding his time, waiting around until Trump comes back into office. And he really does seem to believe not only that the winners write history, but that he and the other January 6th defendants are themselves poised to be the winners, that they are now in a position to write what could be the final chapter on January 6th.
Anthony Vo
There's a meme that's been circulating around for probably at least a few months, years now, saying January 6th will go down in history as a day. The government staged a riot to cover up the fact that they certified a fraudulent election. And I think that's how history will remember January 6th.
Alan Foyer
And you believe that?
Anthony Vo
I do.
Alan Foyer
And you believe that history will believe that.
Anthony Vo
Yeah.
Sabrina Tavernisi
Alan, thank you.
Alan Foyer
Thanks for having me.
Sabrina Tavernisi
We'll be right back.
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Alan Foyer
Born into a Jewish family in Hungary, George Soros escaped Nazi occupation to build a life of freedom for himself and countless others around the world.
Sabrina Tavernisi
Educated in England for Biden, the ceremony was an unmistakable message of support for a political and financial establishment that Trump is eager to replace in the coming months.
Alan Foyer
Congratulations. But let's remember our sacred effort continues. Have to keep going, as my mother would say. We got to keep the faith. God bless you all and may God protect our truth. Please enjoy.
Sabrina Tavernisi
Today's episode was produced by Asta Chaturvedi and Moosh Zaidi with help from Nina Feldman, Eric Krupke and Mary Wilson. It was edited by Michael Benoit, research assistants by Susan Lee, contains original music by Dan Powell, Marion Lozano and Sophia Landman and was engineered by Alyssa Moxley with help from Carol Sabaro. Our theme music is by Jim Brunberg and Ben Landsberg of Wonderly. That's it for the Daily I'm Sabrina Tavernisi. See you tomorrow. Whether you're starting or scaling your company's security program, demonstrating top notch security practices and establishing trust is more important than ever. Vanta automates compliance for SoC2, ISO 27001 and more. With Vanta, you can streamline security reviews by automating questionnaires and demonstrating your security posture with a customer facing Trust Center. Over 7,000 global companies use Vanta to manage risk and prove security in real time. Get $1,000 off Vanta when you go to Vanta.com daily. That's Vanta.com daily for $1,000 off.
Summary of "The Reinvention of Jan. 6" Episode of The Daily
Podcast Information:
[00:34] Sabrina Tavernise:
Sabrina Tavernise introduces the episode by highlighting the ongoing efforts by former President Donald Trump and his allies to reframe the events of January 6, 2021. The focus centers on transforming a day marked by violence into one characterized by peace and order.
Key Quote:
Sabrina Tavernise: "President elect Donald Trump and his allies have set out to sanitize the events of that day."
[02:24] Alan Foyer:
Alan Foyer provides a comprehensive overview of the legal landscape four years post-January 6th. He emphasizes the unprecedented scale of the Justice Department's investigation, noting that approximately 1,600 individuals face criminal charges related to the riot. To date, over a thousand have either been tried or have pled guilty, with only two acquittals among more than 200 trials.
Key Quote:
Alan Foyer: "It was a day of violence in an attempt to impede a central act of American democracy that resulted in more than 140 police officers being injured and also led to the deaths of four protesters."
[05:02] Alan Foyer:
Foyer discusses Donald Trump's dramatic shift in narrative regarding January 6th. Initially condemning the attack as "heinous," Trump now portrays it as a peaceful demonstration, referring to participants as "hostages." He has pledged to issue pardons to some of those involved, casting doubt on over 200 criminal cases.
Key Quote:
Alan Foyer: "They're not destroying the Capitol. They obviously revere the Capitol, changing it."
[05:55] Sabrina Tavernise:
Foyer introduces Anthony Vo, a 32-year-old from Indiana, who provides a personal account of his involvement in the Capitol riot. Vo emphasizes his non-violent participation and his subsequent conviction on four low-level misdemeanors.
[07:38] Anthony Vo:
Vo shares his motivations, highlighting a mistrust in mainstream media and belief in election conspiracy theories that fueled his participation in the "Stop the Steal" rally.
Key Quote:
Anthony Vo: "We just love this country and, you know, the freedom and everything else that it symbolized for us."
[12:40] Anthony Vo:
Vo articulates his belief that January 6th was an exercise of democracy, likening the event to a peaceful assembly aimed at petitioning the government.
Key Quote:
Anthony Vo: "I felt like it was a situation where, like, normally you wouldn't be allowed here, but I thought that this was, like, a very special opportunity that we earned to be able to exercise our rights."
[18:54] Sabrina Tavernise:
The discussion shifts to the potential pardons and their implications. Vo reveals his decision to evade sentencing, inspired by Trump's pardon promises and drawing parallels to figures like Edward Snowden and Julian Assange.
Key Quote:
Anthony Vo: "We're being very unfairly treated by the weaponized justice system as he has been as well."
[23:40] Sabrina Tavernise:
Foyer explores the practicalities of Trump's promised pardons, questioning whether they will be broad amnesties or targeted towards non-violent offenders like Vo. He highlights the divisive nature of this move, with public opinion largely opposing pardons for January 6th defendants.
Key Quote:
Alan Foyer: "The debate now is really about the scope of the pardons that Trump is going to do."
[26:08] Sabrina Tavernise:
The conversation delves into the broader consequences of issuing pardons, particularly on public trust in the legal system. Foyer warns that overriding extensive prosecutorial work could severely damage the perceived integrity of the judiciary.
Key Quote:
Alan Foyer: "It would be quite destructive to the notion of the rule of law."
[27:28] Alan Foyer:
Foyer draws comparisons between Trump's narrative revisionism and historical instances like Stalinist Russia, where authoritarian regimes have redefined historical events to legitimize their rule. He underscores the risk of creating a bifurcated historical record, where official narratives clash with documented evidence.
Key Quote:
Alan Foyer: "It's absolutely already starting to happen. Just recently, Trump's congressional allies released a report recommending that Liz Cheney...should herself face an FBI investigation."
[34:26] Anthony Vo:
Vo expresses his belief that history will vindicate the actions taken on January 6th, positioning them as a justified response to a fraudulent election. This sentiment reflects a broader movement among defendants and supporters aiming to reshape the historical understanding of the event.
Key Quote:
Anthony Vo: "I think that's how history will remember January 6th."
[36:15] Sabrina Tavernise:
The episode concludes by reflecting on the ceremonial actions of President Joe Biden, who awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom to figures opposed by Trump, signaling a stark political divide. The conversation emphasizes the continuity of efforts to uphold accountability while acknowledging the challenges posed by political rhetoric aimed at rewriting history.
Key Quote:
Alan Foyer: "We've got to keep the faith. God bless you all and may God protect our truth."
Legal Repercussions: The Justice Department's extensive investigations into January 6th have set a precedent for accountability, with a high conviction rate among defendants. However, looming pardons threaten to undermine these efforts, raising concerns about selective justice.
Political Strategy: Trump's promise to pardon participants serves as a strategic move to consolidate support among his base while simultaneously delegitimizing the legal processes that followed January 6th.
Public Trust: The potential pardons and narrative shifts pose a significant threat to public trust in the legal system and democratic institutions, casting doubts on the impartiality and effectiveness of justice.
Historical Record: Despite efforts to rewrite the narrative, the abundance of video evidence and official testimonies acts as a counterforce, preserving the factual account of the events. The struggle to control the historical narrative mirrors tactics seen in authoritarian regimes.
Personal Narratives: Stories like Anthony Vo's illustrate the human dimension of the event, highlighting how individual beliefs and political rhetoric influence perceptions and actions, ultimately shaping their fates within the legal system.
"The Reinvention of Jan. 6" offers a profound exploration of the complex interplay between law, politics, and personal narratives in the aftermath of one of the most tumultuous days in recent American history. By providing firsthand accounts and expert analysis, the episode underscores the fragile state of democratic institutions and the ongoing battle to define historical truth.