Fresh out of federal prison, former Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio suggests he’s still in charge as the far-right organization looks to regroup.
Fresh out of federal prison, former Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio suggests he’s still in charge as the far-right organization looks to regroup.
As intended.
Trump didn’t pardon all those people as just, or even primarily, a PR move. He pardoned them so they could fight on his behalf again, and secure in the knowledge that he’ll be there to protect them from any potential consequences (and so that others would come forward to fight on his behalf, emboldened by the same assurance of immunity from consequences).
They’re going to be his brownshirts.
A student of history would know that Hitler had Röhm killed and the brownshirts disbanded to consolidate power once the opposition and “secular” state were subsumed by the Party. But I don’t think these people plan that far ahead.
Iirc He got rid of the brown shirts when he got real control of the military, so he didn’t need them anymore. Trump will use the military for “legal” things and use/let the brown shirts do the illegal and messy things that competent officers wouldn’t do.