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Outgoing United States Capitol Police (USCP) Chief J. Thomas Manger has sounded off on President Donald Trump’s pardons of the Jan. 6 defendants – calling the day of the sweeping pardons one of the most troubling moments of his career, according to a report.
Manger, who will retire later this week, has been a vocal critic of those who participated in the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot and lamented Trump pardoning nearly all defendants shortly after his inauguration this year.
He told WTOP “I was angry and as frustrated about that as I’ve ever been professionally.”
U.S. Capitol Police Chief J. Thomas Manger has criticized President Donald Trump for pardoning Jan. 6 defendants. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images, left, Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images, right.)
TRUMP PARDONS NEARLY ALL JAN. 6 DEFENDANTS ON INAUGURATION DAY
Manger told the outlet that as discouraging as that was, it made him determined to continue to make improvements. “What it made me feel like is somebody’s got to stay here and stand up for these cops,” Manger said.
Manger has served as USCP chief since July 2021 and was hired to rebuild the force and implement reforms to enhance security and preparedness in the wake of the Jan. 6 riot. The more than 100 reform recommendations included expanding intelligence, training and riot-response capabilities.
He has often condemned the attack, referring to it as an “insurrection” and an attack on democracy. Trump has referred to those who were imprisoned as “hostages.”
“Some people in this country believe January 6 wasn’t that bad,” Manger told WTOP. “My cops know what happened on January 6. They know what happened. They were here.”
Manger’s police career stretches back to 1977, when he started out as an officer with the Fairfax County Police Department in Virginia. He rose to chief of department in 1998 and remained in that role until 2004. Manger became chief of police in Montgomery County, Maryland, in 2004 and held the position until his…
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