"He said not to tell anybody," one of Johnson's victims testified. Both children later testified that they were too afraid to tell any adults about what they had endured, according to trial records obtained by NPR. "We were scared," Johnson's other victim testified. "Like, we didn't realize that this stuff was not okay because we were 12 years old.""
"Johnson is one of several pardoned Capitol riot defendants who have been arrested for new crimes since receiving clemency for their actions during the 2021 insurrection. Opponents of Trump's mass pardons say the president's actions have instilled a sense of impunity among members of the mob who stormed the Capitol."
"They think they're untouchable," said Congressman Jamie Raskin, a Maryland Democrat who served on the House select committee that investigated the Jan. 6 attack. Trump's pardons, Raskin told NPR, "definitely have made Americans less safe.""
Andrew Paul Johnson, a Florida man pardoned for his role in the January 6 Capitol riot, was sentenced to life in prison after being convicted of sexually abusing two middle-school-aged children. Johnson used threats of sharing Trump administration restitution money to silence his victims. Both children testified they were afraid to report the abuse and did not understand it was wrong due to their age. Johnson represents one of several pardoned Capitol riot defendants arrested for new crimes following their clemency. Critics, including Congressman Jamie Raskin, argue Trump's mass pardons have created a sense of impunity among rioters and made Americans less safe. Recent arrests include Jake Lang, charged with assaulting police during the riot, who was later arrested for threatening a police officer.
Read at www.npr.org
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