Attorney General Pam Bondi has firmly rejected claims of a “double standard” after President Donald Trump pardoned hundreds of rioters who assaulted police during the January 6 Capitol attack, while deploying military force in response to ongoing protests in Los Angeles. “Well, this is very different,” Bondi said Wednesday at a White House gaggle. “These are people out there hurting people in California right now. This is ongoing.”
The moment became a flashpoint as critics—most notably California Governor Gavin Newsom—called out the clear inconsistency in treating domestic unrest rooted in political grievances versus protests aimed at immigration policy. “Trump … he’s not opposed to lawlessness and violence, as long as it serves him,” Newsom said Tuesday. “What more evidence do we need than Jan. 6?”
Bondi challenged the comparisons, asserting that while the pardoned individuals involved in the Capitol riot belonged to a closed, historical event, the Los Angeles protests were active and present threats to public safety. “These are people out there hurting people in California right now. This is ongoing,” she reiterated.
But critics seized upon the irony: Trump had extended clemency to nearly all of the 1,600 people charged in January 6-related crimes—many convicted of assaulting or impeding officers—effectively wiping away repercussions for their violence. Reports show he pardoned over 450 facing assault charges against law enforcement, roughly 300 of whom hadn’t faced final conviction. Prosecutors admit the pardons also halted investigations into about 60 suspects still pending charges.
In contrast, federal authorities are gearing up to prosecute demonstrators arrested during the Los Angeles protests. Bondi emphasized that nine are facing federal charges—including for throwing Molotov cocktails and spitting on officers—with serious penalties on the table. “If you spit on a federal law enforcement officer, we are going to charge you with a crime federally… up to five years maximum in prison,” she declared during a Fox News interview.
Bondi also reminded the public that federal troops deployed in Los Angeles—4,100 National Guard members and 700 Marines—are there to shield ICE and federal law enforcement under Trump’s March memo. They accompany agents during immigration raids amid heightened protests, not to arrest people—a key legal distinction enforced under Posse Comitatus. Still, California officials argue this militarization of public spaces is itself a response-oriented stance, contradictory to pardoning violent extremists.
Governor Newsom, along with Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, accused Trump of stoking fears about “paid agitators” and inflaming tensions. Bass said the federal deployment represented “unnecessary escalation,” and critics mocked the move—comparing it directly against how law enforcement blocked protesters during Jan. 6.
Bondi, however, steadfastly defended the administration’s actions—not only in rescuing officers during live violent conflict, but in drawing a principled distinction between ongoing threat and historical clemency. “Right now in California, we’re at a good point,” she said. “We’re not scared to go further. We’re not frightened to do something else if we need to.”
Still, her explanation did not sit well with defenders of law and consistency. Democratic Senator Jack Reed called Trump’s pardons for Capitol rioters “illegal” given that “law and order is a civil function under the Constitution … not the U.S. military”. Critics noted that while Trump promises to “hit” people who spit on officers, he pardons those who attempted to overthrow Congress—choosing whom to defend and whom to condemn along clear political lines.
Bondi, who previously in her confirmation hearing stated she condemns violence against police and believed pardons should be considered case by case, now faces tough questions about real-world application. She had stated at the time: “Let me be very clear … I condemn any violence on a law enforcement officer in this country.”
When asked repeatedly about whether the actions fit legal or moral thresholds for invoking the Insurrection Act, Bondi deflected—insisting current conditions do not warrant further escalation, though warning the administration “is not scared to go further” if necessary.
The state of California is already moving forward with legal challenges, suing the federal government to block the armed troops’ deployment and to maintain state sovereignty. The case is now before a federal court as tensions rise in major city centers like Los Angeles
The clash between pardons after Jan. 6 and force used in contemporary protests brings into sharp focus the Trump administration’s selective approach to law enforcement—prioritizing actions based on political alignment rather than consistent legal standards. Ultimately, the unresolved debate leaves the public wondering: when is violence condemned, and when is it pardoned?
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