Illinois Governor Reportedly Blocks Jan. 6 Rioters From State Jobs After Trump Pardons

The more than 1,500 January 6 offenders pardoned by President Donald Trump last week cannot be re-charged with their crimes under the federal pardon power. Can they be charged with state crimes since they took place in Washington, D.C., and are, therefore, under the federal government’s jurisdiction?

A handful of pardoned January 6ers have been indicted or arrested for other crimes, including one Texas man who is wanted for solicitation of a minor. Another was sentenced for drunk driving, while one pardoned man was killed by police days later.

Now, one Democratic politician has blocked pardoned January 6 defendants from state jobs.

According to NBC News, Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker banned state employees who participated on January 6 because “no one who attempts to overthrow a government should serve in government.”

Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker bans convicted Jan. 6 participants from consideration for state jobs, in memo https://t.co/UvMSX6TJUM

— CBS Mornings (@CBSMornings) January 31, 2025

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“To protect the integrity of our workforce and safety of our State, I hereby direct CMS to apply the State Personnel Code and consider any participation in the January 6 insurrection as infamous and disgraceful conduct that is antithetical to the mission of the State,” Pritzker wrote in a letter to the director of the state’s Central Management Services.

Pritzker appears to be the first governor to take such a step, which, according to NBC, could result in legal challenges. The Chicago Sun-Times had earlier reported that about 50 Illinois residents were either accused or convicted of January 6-related crimes.

The Illinois governor had ripped the decision by Trump to pardon the rioters when it first happened.

The insurrectionists are not political prisoners, heroes, or martyrs. They assaulted law enforcement right before our eyes and put our democracy in peril. They deserve prosecution to the fullest extent of the law. https://t.co/ZfpmZJgvjZ

— JB Pritzker (@JBPritzker) January 23, 2025

The Hill wrote in November about Democratic governors willing to confront the new administration, and Pritzker was one of them.

“You come for my people, you come through me,” Pritzker has said on more than one occasion. And this week, he had an online back and forth with Elon Musk, which included posting a picture of himself at the venerable Chicago hot dog stand The Wiener’s Circle and mocking Musk’s apparent Nazi salute: