Senate Joint Resolution 25-006

SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION 25-006

BY SENATOR(S) Hinrichsen and Ball, Amabile, Bridges, Cutter, Daugherty, Exum, Jodeh, Kipp, Kolker, Marchman, Michaelson Jenet, Mullica, Roberts, Rodriguez, Snyder, Weissman, Winter F., Coleman;

also REPRESENTATIVE(S) Camacho and Carter, Bacon, Bird, Boesenecker, Brown, Clifford, Duran, English, Espenoza, Feret, Froelich, Garcia, Gilchrist, Hamrick, Jackson, Joseph, Lindsay, Lindstedt, Lukens, Mabrey, Marshall, Martinez, Mauro, McCormick, Paschal, Phillips, Ricks, Rutinel, Sirota, Smith, Stewart K., Stewart R., Titone, Valdez, Velasco, Willford, Woodrow, Zokaie, McCluskie.

CONCERNING CONDEMNATION OF THE PARDONS OF THOSE INVOLVED IN THE JANUARY 6, 2021, INSURRECTION AGAINST THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.

WHEREAS, On January 6, 2021, at a rally at The Ellipse outside the White House, President Trump, following months of lies about widespread voter fraud, claimed the election had been "stolen by emboldened radical left Democrats", and told rally attendees "If you don't fight like hell, you're not gonna have a country anymore"; and

WHEREAS, Following President Trump's speech at The Ellipse, rally attendees marched to the United States Capitol and many began rioting, with official FBI estimates concluding that between 2,000 and 2,500 people forcibly and illegally breached the Capitol, in what many scholars have described as an "attempted self-coup" and "an insurrection"; and

WHEREAS, Insurrectionists sought to prevent, and successfully postponed, the proceedings of the constitutionally mandated joint session of Congress to certify the electoral college results of the freely and fairly conducted 2020 presidential election; and

WHEREAS, Insurrectionists openly called for violence against political figures, including chants calling for the hanging of Vice President Mike Pence; and

WHEREAS, A gallows and a noose were erected on Capitol grounds during the insurrection; and

WHEREAS, Undetonated pipe bombs were found after the attack outside both the Democratic National Committee and the Republican National Committee headquarters; and

WHEREAS, Due to the heroic efforts of Capitol Police officers, the vice president and all members of Congress were successfully evacuated from the Capitol before the insurrectionists breached the Senate chamber and attempted unsuccessfully to breach the House chamber; and

WHEREAS, Insurrectionists attacked Capitol Police officers with brass knuckles, pickaxes, tomahawks, flagpoles, pepper spray, knives, fire extinguishers, stolen police riot shields, batons, fencing, destroyed furniture, and other makeshift weapons; and

WHEREAS, Multiple insurrectionists were later charged with, or convicted of, illegally carrying firearms during the attack; and

WHEREAS, There is widespread evidence of premeditated online coordination of the insurrection between the Proud Boys, Oath Keepers, and Three Percenters, which are organizations that have been cited as extremist groups by both the Southern Poverty Law Center and the Anti-Defamation League; and

WHEREAS, One Capitol Police officer died from a stroke brought on by the injuries he sustained from multiple assaults by insurrectionists; and

WHEREAS, Four Capitol Police officers who defended the Capitol later died by suicide; and

WHEREAS, At least 174 Capitol Police officers were injured, 15 of whom required hospitalization; and

WHEREAS, $2.7 million in damages were caused to the Capitol building and grounds; and

WHEREAS, Following a request from District of Columbia Mayor Muriel Bowser, 1,100 Washington D.C. National Guardsmen were called up to restore peace and security to the Capitol and its grounds; and

WHEREAS, on January 20, 2025, President Trump pardoned, or commuted the sentences for, all insurrectionists who were convicted of crimes committed during the January 6, 2021, attack on the United States Capitol and ensured that cases were dismissed for those who faced charges or were under investigation for participation in the attack; and

WHEREAS, The rule of law, respect for the results of a free and fair election, and freedom from political violence are foundational cornerstones of the United States Constitution and core tenets of freedom and the American way of life; and

WHEREAS, Those pardons erode the rule of law and signal an acceptance of political violence, so long as the violence was committed by those who support President Trump; and

WHEREAS, Such acceptance desecrates the service and sacrifice of those who have defended the Constitution against such enemies; now, therefore,

Be It Resolved by the Senate of the Seventy-fifth General Assembly of the State of Colorado, the House of Representatives concurring herein:

(1)  That the Seventy-fifth Colorado General Assembly hereby condemns the pardons of those involved in the January 6, 2021, insurrection against the United States of America; and

(2)   That the Seventy-fifth Colorado General Assembly further condemns the firing of dedicated, selfless FBI agents assigned to said insurrection cases, who committed their careers to the defense of our nation and its sovereignty.

Be It Further Resolved, That copies of this Joint Resolution be sent to Governor Jared Polis and the members of Colorado's congressional delegation.