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News Analysis
President Trump’s flurry of pardons this week sent a message to law enforcement: He will “back the blue” if they back him.
President Trump greeting police officers after a rally in Waukesha, Wis., last year. Police unions have been an area of support for Mr. Trump. Credit… Doug Mills/The New York Times Jan. 24, 2025
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On Monday, the Washington police union was decrying President Trump’s use of pardons when he let off rioters who attacked more than 150 officers on Jan. 6, 2021. By Wednesday, the same union was praising Mr. Trump after he pardoned two of their own who had been convicted in connection with the death of a young Black man.
With his flurry of pardons this week, Mr. Trump sent contradictory messages about his support for police. He showed he would support them in many situations, even when prosecutors and juries say they have gone too far. But his decision-making appeared centered less on “backing the blue” than on whether those in blue backed him.
Mr. Trump made this clear when he used his clemency power to wipe clean the records of around 1,600 Jan. 6 defendants, including those who had used stun guns and chemical spray on police officers. A day later, he teased that he would soon issue clemency to help police officers convicted after a chase that killed a 20-year-old Black man, Karon Hylton-Brown, in 2020. Mr. Hylton-Brown’s death — and a coverup by the police — led to protests in the nation’s capital.
To some degree, the one-two punch of decisions was typical politics. Mr. Trump’s pardons angered a constituency he prizes, so he followed up with a move meant to appease police. But some saw a distinct racial dynamic at play, with the president siding with a largely white mob on Jan. 6 and with white police officers in Mr. Hylton-Brown’s killing.
David L. Shurtz, a lawyer for Mr. Hylton-Brown’s family, said he “absolutely” believed race had played a role in the pardons.
Amaala Jones-Bey, the mother of Mr. Hylton-Brown’s 4-year-old daughter, said the contradictions in Mr. Trump’s decisions on pardons were baffling. “You just pardoned people who caused harm to your police officers but now he’s pardoning police officers who harmed citizens,” she said.
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