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Mississippi Senate Bill SR32

Mississippi 2025 Regular Session

Mississippi Senate Bill SR32 Compare Versions

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11 MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE 2025 Regular Session To: Rules By: Senator(s) Chism Senate Resolution 32 A RESOLUTION COMMENDING PRESIDENT DONALD J. TRUMP FOR ISSUING, ON JANUARY 20, 2025, A "PROCLAMATION GRANTING PARDONS AND COMMUTATION OF SENTENCES FOR CERTAIN OFFENSES RELATING TO THE EVENTS AT OR NEAR THE UNITED STATES CAPITOL ON JANUARY 6, 2021." WHEREAS, on January 6, 2021, individuals breached and gained entrance to the United States Capitol and, in some instances, damaged or destroyed federal property; and WHEREAS, this Senate does not condone, and indeed condemns, violent protests, forcibly trespassing into restricted areas of government property, or participating in mob action; and WHEREAS, nevertheless, the Constitution of the United States and our deeply rooted legal traditions secure the fair, equal, impartial, apolitical, even-handed, proportional application of our nation's criminal laws; and WHEREAS, contrary to the inflamed, politicized rhetoric claiming that the actions of the January 6th protestors resulted in five deaths, according to an official report from the District of Columbia Medical Examiner, one Capitol Police Officer, Brian Sicknick, tragically died the following day of natural causes; and WHEREAS, despite inflated and politicized rhetoric to the contrary, only one person, Ashley Babbitt, one of the protestors and a 35-year-old Air Force veteran, died on the Capitol grounds on January 6th, after being shot by a capitol police officer; and WHEREAS, the only person other than Ms. Babbitt who died on the day of the January 6th protests, Rosanne Boyle, died, according a public account given by Mississippian Tommy Tatum, who was in her immediate vicinity that day, because police fired 31 pepper ball rounds into a crowd of protesters gathered in a tunnel; then police pushed the crowd back into the tunnel, causing Ms. Boyle to be trapped under other protesters, leading to her tragic demise; and WHEREAS, according to an April 11, 2022, report from PBS.org, the Biden Department of Justice instituted the largest prosecutorial efforts in its history in connection with the incidents of January 6th; and WHEREAS, this unprecedented wave of federal prosecutions led to approximately 1,583 defendants being charged with federal crimes in connection with the January 6th protests; and WHEREAS, a report by the Chairman of the House Administration Subcommittee on Oversight revealed that one of the only two republicans present on the January 6th Select Committee, Representative Liz Cheney, "likely broke" "numerous federal laws," including a prohibition on "procuring another person to commit perjury"; and WHEREAS, this report also stated that the creation of the very committee assigned to review January 6th was "a politically motivated witch hunt" intended to "guarantee that President Trump could not return to office" via conviction for insurrection under the Fourteenth Amendment "after Speaker Pelosi failed to secure a conviction in the Senate for the second time," an "idea that was published in major newspapers within days of January 6 and spoken about frequently in Left-wing circles"; and WHEREAS, most of the January 6th defendants were charged, detained, threatened with trial, and in some cases tried and convicted in this highly charged, politicized atmosphere in the District of Columbia Circuit, before a jury pool drawn from voters who had voted more than 92.1 percent for Joe Biden and only 5.4 percent for President Trump; and WHEREAS, many January 6th defendants languished in pretrial detention or home confinement for many months, and even years, before trial or disposition, violating their constitutional rights to a speedy trial; and WHEREAS, January 6th defendants typically sought transfers to a fair venue outside the politically charged and biased atmosphere of the District of Columbia Circuit, but these transfer motions were denied, denying them their constitutional right to a trial before a fair and impartial jury; and WHEREAS, one such defendant, Robert Morss, a former Army Ranger and high school history teacher who served his country in three deployments to Afghanistan, according to his public account, was arrested by federal authorities on the last day of school on June 11, 2021, in a manner calculated to cause him maximum embarrassment, and was incarcerated for well over two years before being afforded trial; and WHEREAS, many January 6th defendants received sentences that were disproportionate to their actions; and WHEREAS, one such defendant was Larry Brock, Jr., retired Air Force Lieutenant Colonel, who, according to his public account, arrived at the Capitol on January 6th after all fencing and barriers had been removed; walked through the open doors as capitol police stood there doing nothing to impede him; walked through the Capitol, at one point breaking up a fight between two men, one of whom was an undercover capitol police officer, who testified at Lieutenant Colonel Brock's trial that he had acted to protect him and his partner; then went on the Senate floor and told the man sitting in Vice President Mike Pence's chair to get out of Vice President Pence's chair; then had a cordial conversation with a capitol police officer while he walked to the nearest exit; and nevertheless, for this conduct was charged with a felony and multiple misdemeanors; was tried in the District of Columbia Circuit Court; and was convicted on felony and misdemeanor charges, leading to a lengthy incarceration, including more than 127 days in isolated confinement; however, after the United States Supreme Court held in another January 6th case, Fischer v. United States, that the same felony Mr. Brock was charged with was a misapplication of federal criminal statute, Mr. Brock's felony conviction was vacated by the trial court; and WHEREAS, another such defendant was Thomas Webster, a former marine veteran of three overseas deployments, a New York City police officer of 20 years, and father of three children who, according to the public account of his wife, Michelle Webster, was at the Capitol on January 6th when protesters, including older women and children, were attacked by Metropolitan District of Columbia police officers with rubber bullets, noxious gas, and flash-bang grenades, while peacefully protesting and praying; whereupon Mr. Webster approached a barricade while holding a Marine Corps flag, when a Metropolitan D.C. police officer began taunting and provoking him, saying "come on over" the barricade, then began pushing him, then open-hand punched Mr. Webster in the face; whereupon the flag pole he was carrying came down on the barricade without hitting the officer, causing the flag pole to break; whereupon the officer crossed over the barricade on the protesters' side and grabbed the flag pole, stuck it in Mr. Webster's mouth like a horse bit, and punched Mr. Webster again; and WHEREAS according to Mrs. Webster, the Metropolitan Police Department suspended the case against Mr. Webster when they interviewed the officer, but the Department of Justice reopened the case and charged Mr. Webster with five felonies and one misdemeanor; which resulted in a trial and conviction in which the District of Columbia Circuit Judge sentenced Mr. Webster to ten years in federal prison; despite the fact that Mr. Webster never struck the officer; while an FBI agent in sworn testimony said the officer struck Mr. Webster; moreover, the officer never reported the incident, never went to the hospital or sought medical attention; additionally, at trial the officer testified he did not report the incident because he did not think it was a reportable incident, never submitted a victim impact statement, and only asked for Sixty Dollars ($60.00) in restitution; and WHEREAS, by contrast, after the May 25, 2020, death of George Floyd, according to a June 7, 2022, article in National Review, protests resulted in more than a dozen deaths and more than a billion dollars in property damage; and WHEREAS, the May 2020 George Floyd protests led to numerous federal felony charges during the Trump Administration, but, according to an April 14, 2021, report by Politico.com, soon after the Biden Administration took office, federal prosecutors in Portland, Oregon, executed lenient agreements with the Portland protestors to resolve multiple felony cases without criminal convictions; and WHEREAS, the conduct of the January 6th defendants, while regrettable, and in select cases, condemnable, did not warrant the unprecedented, politically motivated, excessive prosecutions before a biased jury pool, which resulted in sentences grossly disproportionate to the acts committed, and which frequently involved denials of constitutional rights to a speedy trial and lengthy incarceration before defendants' cases were resolved; and WHEREAS, this long train of abuses in connection with the January 6th prosecutions is yet another example of the Biden Administration's weaponization of the justice system, all to tarnish the reputation of Donald J. Trump and to intimidate his supporters to prevent his reelection; and WHEREAS, these efforts failed to prevent the American people from re-electing Donald J. Trump as President of the United States; and WHEREAS, former President Biden himself has issued a scandalously high number of pardons and clemencies, including pardoning his own disgraced son, admitted felon Hunter Biden, whom President Biden falsely promised he would never pardon, and also issued last-minute pardons of other Biden family members, James B. Biden, Sara Jones Biden, Valerie Biden Owens, John T. Owens, and Francis W. Biden, further including last-minute pardons of Dr. Anthony M. Fauci, General Mark Milley, and the members and staff of the January 6th select committee; yet, former President Biden provided no relief to those January 6th prisoners who were persecuted by his administration for exercising their rights to free speech and protest and who, indeed, were made to suffer as pawns in detestable political games, out of all proportion to the protestors' actions: NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI, That we commend President Trump for issuing, on January 20, 2025, a "Proclamation Granting Pardons and Commutation of Sentences for Certain Offenses Relating to the Events" at or near the United States Capitol on January 6, 2021. BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That this resolution be furnished to President Donald J. Trump, Majority Leader John Thune of the U.S. Senate, Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, the U.S. Attorney General's Office, Mississippi's members of Congress, and Mississippi's U.S. Senators, and made available to the Capitol Press Corps.
22
33 MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE
44
55 2025 Regular Session
66
77 To: Rules
88
99 By: Senator(s) Chism
1010
1111 # Senate Resolution 32
1212
1313 A RESOLUTION COMMENDING PRESIDENT DONALD J. TRUMP FOR ISSUING, ON JANUARY 20, 2025, A "PROCLAMATION GRANTING PARDONS AND COMMUTATION OF SENTENCES FOR CERTAIN OFFENSES RELATING TO THE EVENTS AT OR NEAR THE UNITED STATES CAPITOL ON JANUARY 6, 2021."
1414
1515 WHEREAS, on January 6, 2021, individuals breached and gained entrance to the United States Capitol and, in some instances, damaged or destroyed federal property; and
1616
1717 WHEREAS, this Senate does not condone, and indeed condemns, violent protests, forcibly trespassing into restricted areas of government property, or participating in mob action; and
1818
1919 WHEREAS, nevertheless, the Constitution of the United States and our deeply rooted legal traditions secure the fair, equal, impartial, apolitical, even-handed, proportional application of our nation's criminal laws; and
2020
2121 WHEREAS, contrary to the inflamed, politicized rhetoric claiming that the actions of the January 6th protestors resulted in five deaths, according to an official report from the District of Columbia Medical Examiner, one Capitol Police Officer, Brian Sicknick, tragically died the following day of natural causes; and
2222
2323 WHEREAS, despite inflated and politicized rhetoric to the contrary, only one person, Ashley Babbitt, one of the protestors and a 35-year-old Air Force veteran, died on the Capitol grounds on January 6th, after being shot by a capitol police officer; and
2424
2525 WHEREAS, the only person other than Ms. Babbitt who died on the day of the January 6th protests, Rosanne Boyle, died, according a public account given by Mississippian Tommy Tatum, who was in her immediate vicinity that day, because police fired 31 pepper ball rounds into a crowd of protesters gathered in a tunnel; then police pushed the crowd back into the tunnel, causing Ms. Boyle to be trapped under other protesters, leading to her tragic demise; and
2626
2727 WHEREAS, according to an April 11, 2022, report from PBS.org, the Biden Department of Justice instituted the largest prosecutorial efforts in its history in connection with the incidents of January 6th; and
2828
2929 WHEREAS, this unprecedented wave of federal prosecutions led to approximately 1,583 defendants being charged with federal crimes in connection with the January 6th protests; and
3030
3131 WHEREAS, a report by the Chairman of the House Administration Subcommittee on Oversight revealed that one of the only two republicans present on the January 6th Select Committee, Representative Liz Cheney, "likely broke" "numerous federal laws," including a prohibition on "procuring another person to commit perjury"; and
3232
3333 WHEREAS, this report also stated that the creation of the very committee assigned to review January 6th was "a politically motivated witch hunt" intended to "guarantee that President Trump could not return to office" via conviction for insurrection under the Fourteenth Amendment "after Speaker Pelosi failed to secure a conviction in the Senate for the second time," an "idea that was published in major newspapers within days of January 6 and spoken about frequently in Left-wing circles"; and
3434
3535 WHEREAS, most of the January 6th defendants were charged, detained, threatened with trial, and in some cases tried and convicted in this highly charged, politicized atmosphere in the District of Columbia Circuit, before a jury pool drawn from voters who had voted more than 92.1 percent for Joe Biden and only 5.4 percent for President Trump; and
3636
3737 WHEREAS, many January 6th defendants languished in pretrial detention or home confinement for many months, and even years, before trial or disposition, violating their constitutional rights to a speedy trial; and
3838
3939 WHEREAS, January 6th defendants typically sought transfers to a fair venue outside the politically charged and biased atmosphere of the District of Columbia Circuit, but these transfer motions were denied, denying them their constitutional right to a trial before a fair and impartial jury; and
4040
4141 WHEREAS, one such defendant, Robert Morss, a former Army Ranger and high school history teacher who served his country in three deployments to Afghanistan, according to his public account, was arrested by federal authorities on the last day of school on June 11, 2021, in a manner calculated to cause him maximum embarrassment, and was incarcerated for well over two years before being afforded trial; and
4242
4343 WHEREAS, many January 6th defendants received sentences that were disproportionate to their actions; and
4444
4545 WHEREAS, one such defendant was Larry Brock, Jr., retired Air Force Lieutenant Colonel, who, according to his public account, arrived at the Capitol on January 6th after all fencing and barriers had been removed; walked through the open doors as capitol police stood there doing nothing to impede him; walked through the Capitol, at one point breaking up a fight between two men, one of whom was an undercover capitol police officer, who testified at Lieutenant Colonel Brock's trial that he had acted to protect him and his partner; then went on the Senate floor and told the man sitting in Vice President Mike Pence's chair to get out of Vice President Pence's chair; then had a cordial conversation with a capitol police officer while he walked to the nearest exit; and nevertheless, for this conduct was charged with a felony and multiple misdemeanors; was tried in the District of Columbia Circuit Court; and was convicted on felony and misdemeanor charges, leading to a lengthy incarceration, including more than 127 days in isolated confinement; however, after the United States Supreme Court held in another January 6th case, Fischer v. United States, that the same felony Mr. Brock was charged with was a misapplication of federal criminal statute, Mr. Brock's felony conviction was vacated by the trial court; and
4646
4747 WHEREAS, another such defendant was Thomas Webster, a former marine veteran of three overseas deployments, a New York City police officer of 20 years, and father of three children who, according to the public account of his wife, Michelle Webster, was at the Capitol on January 6th when protesters, including older women and children, were attacked by Metropolitan District of Columbia police officers with rubber bullets, noxious gas, and flash-bang grenades, while peacefully protesting and praying; whereupon Mr. Webster approached a barricade while holding a Marine Corps flag, when a Metropolitan D.C. police officer began taunting and provoking him, saying "come on over" the barricade, then began pushing him, then open-hand punched Mr. Webster in the face; whereupon the flag pole he was carrying came down on the barricade without hitting the officer, causing the flag pole to break; whereupon the officer crossed over the barricade on the protesters' side and grabbed the flag pole, stuck it in Mr. Webster's mouth like a horse bit, and punched Mr. Webster again; and
4848
4949 WHEREAS according to Mrs. Webster, the Metropolitan Police Department suspended the case against Mr. Webster when they interviewed the officer, but the Department of Justice reopened the case and charged Mr. Webster with five felonies and one misdemeanor; which resulted in a trial and conviction in which the District of Columbia Circuit Judge sentenced Mr. Webster to ten years in federal prison; despite the fact that Mr. Webster never struck the officer; while an FBI agent in sworn testimony said the officer struck Mr. Webster; moreover, the officer never reported the incident, never went to the hospital or sought medical attention; additionally, at trial the officer testified he did not report the incident because he did not think it was a reportable incident, never submitted a victim impact statement, and only asked for Sixty Dollars ($60.00) in restitution; and
5050
5151 WHEREAS, by contrast, after the May 25, 2020, death of George Floyd, according to a June 7, 2022, article in National Review, protests resulted in more than a dozen deaths and more than a billion dollars in property damage; and
5252
5353 WHEREAS, the May 2020 George Floyd protests led to numerous federal felony charges during the Trump Administration, but, according to an April 14, 2021, report by Politico.com, soon after the Biden Administration took office, federal prosecutors in Portland, Oregon, executed lenient agreements with the Portland protestors to resolve multiple felony cases without criminal convictions; and
5454
5555 WHEREAS, the conduct of the January 6th defendants, while regrettable, and in select cases, condemnable, did not warrant the unprecedented, politically motivated, excessive prosecutions before a biased jury pool, which resulted in sentences grossly disproportionate to the acts committed, and which frequently involved denials of constitutional rights to a speedy trial and lengthy incarceration before defendants' cases were resolved; and
5656
5757 WHEREAS, this long train of abuses in connection with the January 6th prosecutions is yet another example of the Biden Administration's weaponization of the justice system, all to tarnish the reputation of Donald J. Trump and to intimidate his supporters to prevent his reelection; and
5858
5959 WHEREAS, these efforts failed to prevent the American people from re-electing Donald J. Trump as President of the United States; and
6060
6161 WHEREAS, former President Biden himself has issued a scandalously high number of pardons and clemencies, including pardoning his own disgraced son, admitted felon Hunter Biden, whom President Biden falsely promised he would never pardon, and also issued last-minute pardons of other Biden family members, James B. Biden, Sara Jones Biden, Valerie Biden Owens, John T. Owens, and Francis W. Biden, further including last-minute pardons of Dr. Anthony M. Fauci, General Mark Milley, and the members and staff of the January 6th select committee; yet, former President Biden provided no relief to those January 6th prisoners who were persecuted by his administration for exercising their rights to free speech and protest and who, indeed, were made to suffer as pawns in detestable political games, out of all proportion to the protestors' actions:
6262
6363 NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI, That we commend President Trump for issuing, on January 20, 2025, a "Proclamation Granting Pardons and Commutation of Sentences for Certain Offenses Relating to the Events" at or near the United States Capitol on January 6, 2021.
6464
6565 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That this resolution be furnished to President Donald J. Trump, Majority Leader John Thune of the U.S. Senate, Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, the U.S. Attorney General's Office, Mississippi's members of Congress, and Mississippi's U.S. Senators, and made available to the Capitol Press Corps.