Capitol Rioter Pardoned by Trump Sentenced to Life in Prison for Molesting Two Children in Florida
A Florida handyman who was pardoned by President Trump for his role in the January 6 Capitol riot was sentenced on Thursday to life in prison for molesting two children -- one of the starkest examples yet of the moral hazard that critics warned would accompany mass presidential clemency. Andrew Paul Johnson had been convicted of storming the Capitol on January 6, 2021, but received a pardon that wiped his federal record clean. His subsequent conviction for child sex abuse in a Florida state court is beyond the reach of presidential pardon power. The case joins a growing list of pardoned rioters who have since been arrested for new crimes, raising uncomfortable questions about the vetting process -- or lack thereof -- behind the administration's blanket clemency decisions. NPR reported that dozens of former Capitol rioters have gotten into additional legal trouble since receiving presidential pardons, though the Johnson case represents by far the most serious post-pardon offense.
Read Full Story at Washington TimesCoverage from 2 outlets
But whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a great millstone fastened around his neck and to be drowned in the depth of the sea.
— Matthew 18:6
Christ's warning about those who harm children stands as the most severe judgment in all of Scripture -- more severe than any earthly court can impose. When political mercy intersects with monstrous crime, the millstone passage is a reminder that ultimate justice belongs to God alone, and no pardon from any earthly power changes the eternal verdict against those who prey on the innocent.