President Trump claimed these violent felons did not attack anyone after issuing a blanket pardon to Daniel Rodriguez and others after the attack of Michael Fanone.
by Terry Hansen
Guest Commentary
Guest Commentary
Jack Smith, the former special counsel who oversaw the investigation into President Donald Trump’s attempts to overturn the 2020 election, recently testified publicly for the first time before the House Judiciary Committee. Committee member Joe Neguse (D-CO) warned: "Mr. Smith...Republicans are trying to rewrite history. ... Perhaps the Chairman could muster the courage to call the four witnesses who I see...standing behind you, Mr. Smith. The four police officers who risked everything, life and limb...to protect the Republican members on the dais." Former D.C. police officer Michael Fanone was one of those protectors present in the hearing room. On January 6, 2021, Daniel Rodriguez repeatedly drove a stun gun into Fanone's skull, causing him to lose consciousness and suffer a heart attack. Rodriguez was sentenced to over 12 years in prison. The judge called him “a one-man army of hate." After issuing his blanket pardon of Rodriguez and his fellow cop-beaters, President Trump claimed these violent felons did not attack anyone, and that, in fact, they were the ones who had been attacked. He further stated that pardoning them was "a great thing for humanity." Timothy Snyder, author of On Tyranny, argues that democracy cannot exist without history because it depends on citizens who can recognize patterns from the past, accept responsibility for what their nation has done, and choose better paths for the future. Today, we are watching the Trump administration distort the facts surrounding the fatal shootings of Minneapolis residents Renée Good and Alex Pretti by U.S. Border Patrol agents. This revisionism isn’t just cynical—it’s dangerous. When politicians deny what happened in plain sight, they erode the public’s ability to tell truth from propaganda. And when the truth is lost, so is our capacity to hold power to account.
Terry Hansen is a retired educator from Grafton, WI, who writes frequently about climate change and on human rights. He lives in Grafton, WIsconsin.
