President Donald Trump’s recent clemency grants to over 1,500 individuals charged in connection with the January 6, 2021, US Capitol breach may not be the end of the ordeal for some of those individuals. Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner has stated that his office is investigating the possibility of bringing state election- or conspiracy-related charges against some of the Pennsylvania residents who received pardons or sentence commutations.
Krasner’s office could potentially take action against over 100 Pennsylvania residents who received full pardons or sentence commutations, including a Philadelphia-based Proud Boys leader and a Pittsburgh-area man who was sentenced to 14 years in prison for using pepper spray on police officers and throwing a folding chair at them.
Krasner believes that there is a path for charging individuals for crimes connected with January 6, 2021, and that state prosecutors should focus on what occurred within their jurisdiction. He suggests that texting, phone calls, emails, and reservations for transportation or hotels could give rise to a local charge of criminal conspiracy.
However, legal hurdles and double jeopardy concerns may make it difficult for state prosecutors to bring charges against the individuals. Former prosecutors point out that jurisdictional issues and wide double jeopardy protections make it challenging to isolate the state charges.
State prosecutors would need to prove that the successive actions are focused on remedying a “very different kind of harm or evil” than the federal charges, which is a high burden to meet. A 2019 decision by a New York judge, which cited the double jeopardy clause, sets a precedent for tossing state charges.
Despite the challenges, Krasner believes that state prosecutors can bring charges against individuals and that the rule of law must be upheld. Republicans, including Vice President JD Vance and House Speaker Mike Johnson, have faced tough questions about the clemency orders and the impact on the party’s reputation.
Some Republicans, including Sen. Lisa Murkowski, have criticized the pardons, saying that they send a bad message to police officers and undermine democracy. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer has also spoken out against the pardons, calling them “deeply un-American.”
