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It is written:
Proverbs 17:15-He who justifies the wicked, and he who condemns the just, Both of them alike are an abomination to the LORD.
In my years of ministry as a Gospel preacher, I have been blessed to work with many individuals who were survivors of horrific situations. Some were abused in terrible ways as children, and some were physically and sexually assaulted by perpetrators who should have been their protectors. Some were victims of drug dealers, being targeted by sadistic people who trapped them in heinous situations through the power of substance dependency.
Something that I have learned is that as Christians, God calls on us to stand up for survivors, and that sometimes means adding our voice of support to those who have been oppressed. God called upon the Jews in the Old Testament to speak up and to stand up for those mistreated by the more powerful:
Isaiah 1:17-Learn to do good; Seek justice, Rebuke the oppressor; Defend the fatherless, Plead for the widow.
Proverbs 31:9-Open your mouth, judge righteously, And plead the cause of the poor and needy.
Jeremiah 22:3-Thus says the LORD: “Execute judgment and righteousness, and deliver the plundered out of the hand of the oppressor. Do no wrong and do no violence to the stranger, the fatherless, or the widow, nor shed innocent blood in this place.
Jeremiah 22:16-He judged the cause of the poor and needy; Then it was well. Was not this knowing Me?” says the LORD.
Zechariah 7:9-10-Thus says the LORD of hosts: ‘Execute true justice, Show mercy and compassion Everyone to his brother. 10 Do not oppress the widow or the fatherless, The alien or the poor. Let none of you plan evil in his heart Against his brother.’
The same commands are given for God’s people in the New Testament:
Matthew 25:34-46-Then the King will say to those on His right hand, ‘Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: 35 for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; 36 I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.’ 37 “Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink? 38 When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You? 39 Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’ 40 And the King will answer and say to them, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.’ 41 “Then He will also say to those on the left hand, ‘Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels: 42 for I was hungry and you gave Me no food; I was thirsty and you gave Me no drink; 43 I was a stranger and you did not take Me in, naked and you did not clothe Me, sick and in prison and you did not visit Me.’ 44 “Then they also will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to You?’ 45 Then He will answer them, saying, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.’ 46 And these will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”
James 1:27-Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world.
With that being said, I want to consider with you the heartbreaking case of hundreds of survivors of violent assault in this country. These survivors were then betrayed by their President and their country.
I am speaking, of course, of the brave police officers who courageously stood their ground against a bloodthirsty mob of attackers on January 6, 2021. This group of frenzied and violent criminals had been called to the Capitol by Donald Trump, former (and current) President of the United States. From there, they embarked on a rampage of “shock and awe” against around 140 police officers. Their attack lasted for about two hours, and during that time, hundreds of assaults on our valiant men and women who defended our country were logged.
In order to emphasize the events of that day, let me share with you the words of some of those police officers who were there. (I have tried to go through edit out any vulgarities or profanities from these quotations: if I “missed” any, I humbly apologize and ask you to please inform me).
“I looked down below to my right, and I was stunned. What I saw was like a scene from a gladiator movie. In what seemed like a sea of people, Capitol Police officers and Metropolitan DC Police (MPD) officers were fighting desperately, hand-to-hand with rioters across the west lawn. Until then, I had never seen anyone physically assault a Capitol Police officer or an MPD officer—let alone witness mass assaults against law enforcement officers. I could see rioters hitting officers with flagpoles, sticks, and metal bike racks they had torn apart. They were throwing batteries, canned food—anything they could to hurt officers. You could hear the screaming and hollering as the battle raged on. Blood was streaming down officers’ faces. They were yelling, grunting, and trying to force the rioters back. Many of them were blinded and coughing after being doused with pepper spray, bear spray, and even WD-40. It was crazy. We used the water I brought to wash the irritant out of their eyes, and then when they were good enough, they went back into the fight. Everything was chaos and madness. Officers fighting with rioters, then getting relief. Officers heading back to the fight, then returning, because they needed their eyes and skin flushed with water to wash off the spray. At some point, the radio blasted, “Attention, all units!” The Capitol had been breached. The rioters were in various places inside the building. I rushed into the Capitol with another officer. I can’t remember his name. It’s still hard to piece it all together. We first went to the basement on the Senate side because we heard that a DC police officer needed a defibrillator. After helping, I ran back to the west terrace to help officers there. With people running around the Capitol, I knew I had to get back inside…. By now, I was physically exhausted. It was also hard to breathe and see because of all the chemical spray in the air and on my clothes. More insurrectionists were pouring into the area by the Speaker’s Lobby near the Rotunda, some wearing MAGA hats and shirts that read, “Trump 2020.”…At this point, I was overwhelmed. I had pepper spray all over me. I was exhausted. I was dehydrated. The good thing was, more units were coming into the area. I saw another tactical team. They weren’t Capitol Police. I don’t know who they were, but they were law enforcement, which meant we were getting a bit of help…. And then I started yelling the same thing over and over. “Is this America? Is this America?” (Harry Dunn, Standing My Ground: A Capitol Police Officer’s Fight for Accountability and Good Trouble After January 6th, 77-88 (Kindle Edition): New York, NY: Hachette Books)
Again:
“The officers are now involved in vicious hand-to-hand combat with thousands of rioters who are clearly focused on doing whatever it takes to get into the Capitol. The rioters are systematically trying to pull the metal barricades away from the officers. When they’re successful, they use the barriers as weapons, striking officers with the metal ends, jabbing at them with the sharp metal feet, or hurling them as projectiles. Both Waldow and Loyd have responded to the West Front. They make their way to the front lines, where the officers continue their battle. Protesters are targeting officers’ faces, eyes, and hands. It is brutality without mercy, as if these fellow citizens had become foreign invaders. Such a sick irony to be stabbed with a Blue Lives Matter flag or to be knocked unconscious by someone who, back home, is a fellow first responder. Both Waldow and Loyd can see how serious this has become. Everyone, every officer and every commander, knows at this moment that we have to do everything we can to prevent a breach of the Capitol Building. But we are becoming more and more outnumbered with each passing minute. We desperately need more bodies on the line.…I continue to watch the fight on the monitors. It is brutal, relentless, and only getting worse. I can see people in the crowd deploying chemical spray at the officers, many of whom do not have respirators to protect them. I hear someone in the Command Center say that there are reports of bear spray being used. Bear spray is a very potent form of pepper spray—stronger than anything police use for crowd control or self-defense.…In several incidents, arresting officers are encircled and forced to release their arrestees when they are boxed in and threatened by an aggressive crowd. Both Waldow and Loyd are hit with the spray from the crowd, Waldow taking a number of direct shots to the face. He falls back from the front lines to pour water on his face, then quickly returns to the fray using his hands and his PR-24 baton. When he’s hit with another direct shot of chemical spray, he has to move back and seek treatment at a decontamination station. MPD and USCP officers will hold the lower West Terrace for over an hour until the mob can finally force its way past the barriers and up the steps to the upper West Terrace. Rioters are now under the inaugural platform, trying to push up the stairs. Some in the crowd are now climbing up onto the platform, throwing various projectiles, construction tools, and debris at the officers. At one point, a rioter throws a fire extinguisher down from the platform at the officers below.…The rioters are hitting the officers with everything they’ve got. I see two-by-fours from the construction of the inaugural platform being thrown at the officers. A chair, even a large ladder, is hurled into the tunnel at the officers. During the battle for the door, a rioter pulls the gas mask away from an MPD sergeant while he is sprayed with bear spray. Then the gas mask is released, trapping the concentrated chemical irritant in the sergeant’s mask and burning his eyes and face. The sergeant falls to the ground, inhaling the chemical and burning his lungs. USCP and MPD officers will describe this scene as some of the most brutal fighting they have ever seen. MPD Officer Daniel Hodges is trapped and crushed in the lower West Terrace door. Officers defending the door suffer broken bones, torn ligaments, and dislocated joints, but they hold the door.…During the battle for the upper West Terrace, it’s reported that a rioter has pried a two-by-four plank from the presidential inaugural platform, has approached the line of USCP officers who are trying to hold the metal barricades in place, and has struck an officer in the head with the plank. Another officer on the line sees the struck officer looking dazed and disoriented and grabs him by the back of the collar to pull him behind the police line. Because the officer’s face is so red, those providing first aid first think it is a chemical irritant dye on his face, but when they clean his face, they see blood streaming from his hairline. The two-by-four plank that hit him had several nails protruding from it. The officer is rushed into a room with another officer to keep an eye on him while they wait for medical support that never arrives. Medics just cannot get through the crowd. (They will ultimately walk him to the other side of the building for medical assistance.) Officers are trying to hold the cold metal barricades in place with their bare hands, doing everything they can to repel the attack. At the same time, the rioters are striking at their hands and fingers with bats, pipes, hockey sticks, hammers, and pieces of wood they have taken from the construction site. They are grabbing at officers’ gas masks, trying to rip them off their faces, and tearing at their uniforms.” (Steven A. Sund, Courage Under Fire: The Definitive Account from Inside the Capitol on January 6th, 105-112 (Kindle Edition): Ashland, OR: Blackstone Publishing)
The videos of the attempted insurrection are extremely graphic, as are the words of these survivors.
Later, the attackers were tried in courts of law across our country. Many were sentenced for their part in the unprovoked and vicious attacks upon our police officers. As of December 2022:
“The U.S. Department of Justice has been investigating and prosecuting persons who invaded the Capitol, engaged in violence, and planned violence on that day. The Department has charged more than 900 individuals, and nearly 500 have already been convicted or pleaded guilty as we write. 588 As the Committee’s investigation progressed through its hearings, public reporting emerged suggesting that the Department of Justice had also begun to investigate several others specifically involved in the events being examined by the Committee. Such reports indicated that search warrants had been issued, based on findings of probable cause, for the cell phones of John Eastman, Jeffrey Clark, and Representative Scott Perry. 589 Other reports suggested that the Department had empaneled one or more grand juries and was pursuing a ruling compelling several of this Committee’s witnesses, including Pat Cipollone and Greg Jacob, to give testimony on topics for which President Trump had apparently asserted executive privilege. Recent reporting suggests that a Federal district court judge has now rejected President Trump’s executive privilege claims in that context. 590”. (The New York Times, THE JANUARY 6 REPORT: Findings from the Select Committee to Investigate the Attack on the U.S. Capitol with Reporting, Analysis and Visuals by by The January 6 Select Committee, 218 (Kindle Edition): New York, NY: Hachette Book Group)
Throughout his second campaign, President Trump referred to these criminals as “hostages” and “heroes” on numerous occasions. Their crimes were downplayed, and the police officers who were so brutalized were tossed under the metaphorical bus.
Per Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_cases_of_the_January_6_United_States_Capitol_attack), by January of 2025, there were 1, 575 people charged in connection with the January 6 attack. On January 20, 2025, President Trump issued a full pardon to all but 14 of roughly 1, 270 rioters. The other 14 were released from prison, and their sentences were commuted to “time served.”
Specifically:
“In its latest update, on the four-year anniversary of the Jan. 6 riots, the Department of Justice reported that approximately 1,583 people had been charged criminally in federal court. Most of them pleaded guilty to crimes related to Jan. 6., including 327 who pleaded guilty to felonies and 682 who pleaded guilty to misdemeanors, the Justice Department report said. Among those who pleaded guilty to felonies, 172 pleaded guilty to assaulting law enforcement, 69 pleaded guilty to assaulting law enforcement with a dangerous or deadly weapon, and four pleaded guilty to seditious conspiracy — conspiring to use force against the United States.Another 221 of the Jan. 6 defendants were found guilty at trial, and 40 more were convicted “following an agreed-upon set of facts presented to and accepted by the Court.” Of the 1,100 people convicted and sentenced, 667 were sentenced to some period of incarceration and an additional 145 received prison sentences but were permitted to serve their sentence in home detention. According to the Washington Post, about 400 of the Jan. 6 defendants were still incarcerated at the time Trump issued his clemency proclamation. The Justice Department said that more than 140 police officers were assaulted and about $2.8 million worth of government property at the Capitol was damaged or stolen during the Capitol riots.” (By Robert Farley and Lori Robertson, Trump Justifies J6 Pardons With Misinformation, January 24, 2025: Trump Justifies J6 Pardons With Misinformation – FactCheck.org)
I do not intend to debate politics with this article, since this is not intended to be a political post. Rather, I want to point out the immorality of commuting the sentences of hundreds of legally convicted terrorists who committed hundreds of attacks upon police officers. Many of these officers continue to need medical treatment to this day, due to the extensive nature of their injuries (physically and mentally). Not only did they put their lives on the line to defend American citizens on January 6, these police officers had to endure the man who assembled his mob calling their attackers “heroes,” “hostages,” and political “prisoners.” Then, they watched this President completely pardon the men and women who assaulted them!
My friends, these things ought not to be so.
I have heard many people draw comparisons between President Trump and various people in the Bible. Some have told me that he is like Cyrus who ordered the construction of the Second Temple, since it is claimed by many Jewish leaders that President Trump will build the Third Temple. Others have told me that President Trump is like the Babylonian king, Nebuchadnezzar. One woman told me that President Trump is our Messiah!
However, in light of the events of current days, I see President Trump being like unto one leader in particular from God’s Word: a man by the name of Pontius Pilate.
Mark 15:5-15-But Jesus still answered nothing, so that Pilate marveled. 6 Now at the feast he was accustomed to releasing one prisoner to them, whomever they requested. 7 And there was one named Barabbas, who was chained with his fellow rebels; they had committed murder in the rebellion. 8 Then the multitude, crying aloud, began to ask him to do just as he had always done for them. 9 But Pilate answered them, saying, “Do you want me to release to you the King of the Jews?” 10 For he knew that the chief priests had handed Him over because of envy. 11 But the chief priests stirred up the crowd, so that he should rather release Barabbas to them. 12 Pilate answered and said to them again, “What then do you want me to do with Him whom you call the King of the Jews?” 13 So they cried out again, “Crucify Him!” 14 Then Pilate said to them, “Why, what evil has He done?” But they cried out all the more, “Crucify Him!” 15 So Pilate, wanting to gratify the crowd, released Barabbas to them; and he delivered Jesus, after he had scourged Him, to be crucified.
I am sure you can see the comparisons.
So, where do we go from here?
First, let me speak to the police officers who were assaulted on January 6: thank you for your sacrifices and service for all of our countrymen. I cannot even begin to fathom the fears and challenges that you face every day in defending our freedoms and wellbeing. Please know that I, and many other Americans, are thankful for you.
Second, alongside my thanks, please accept my humble apology for the ways that our President and our country have failed you. I could never fathom the anger and hurt that you must feel from those who say that they “back the blue” and who then side and support the release of the very violent criminals who assaulted you as police officers who were courageously fulfilling your sacred obligation to protect and defend. I am deeply ashamed that these terrorists received a “get out of jail free” card after having been legally convicted of their unprovoked and unwarranted assaults upon you. I am deeply ashamed of President Trump and his labeling of these criminals as “heroes,” and “hostages” after their attempted insurrection and violence against you. I am also deeply ashamed of how many of my fellow Americans defend this atrocity, and especially of my fellow Christians who have once again (whether knowingly or unknowingly) replaced God’s Word in favor of their chosen political leader.
We have failed you, and I am very sorry.
Third, please know that many Americans, myself included, are praying for you and wishing you Godspeed. God’s Word teaches us about the power of prayer (Philippians 4:6-7; Revelation 8:1-7). Indeed, one reason why prayer is so vital is because there is a spiritual war ongoing involving very real forces that mirrors what is happening in the world of man (Ephesians 6:10-18). Indeed, these forces are at war, and this is played out in the world of man (Daniel 10:12-13). We will continue to pray for you! On a personal note, if there is anything that I can do to aid you in your spiritual journey or recovery, please call upon me.
Fourth, to the criminals who attacked the police on January 6, I have the following message, spoken in love: REPENT. I have no desire to see you, or anyone, condemned to Hell. God Himself wants you to be saved. He says:
Ezekiel 18:23-Do I have any pleasure at all that the wicked should die?” says the Lord GOD, “and not that he should turn from his ways and live?
He sent His Son to pay the price for our sins on the cross of Calvary (2 Corinthians 5:15). Jesus died for us, was buried, and arose again on the third day from the dead (1 Corinthians 15:1-8). He is coming back someday, to judge the world.
2 Thessalonians 1:7-10-and to give you who are troubled rest with us when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with His mighty angels, 8 in flaming fire taking vengeance on those who do not know God, and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 These shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power, 10 when He comes, in that Day, to be glorified in His saints and to be admired among all those who believe, because our testimony among you was believed.
The Lord has declared that all who believe in Jesus, repent of their sins, and are baptized into Christ will be forgiven:
Acts 2:38-Then Peter said to them, “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
As a fruit of your repentance, I encourage you to try and make amends with the officers that you assaulted (unless doing so would further injure them). This is the way of Christ.
Matthew 5:23-24-Therefore if you bring your gift to the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, 24 leave your gift there before the altar, and go your way. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift.
None of us deserves forgiveness, least of all me. But thanks be to God for His indescribable gift! Christ calls us to repentance and to a new life following Him.
Just because you got a free pass from President Trump does not absolve you of your moral and spiritual guilt before God. Only Jesus can save you from sin, not President Trump or any individual.
Fifth, to my Christian brothers and sisters who are reading this: please stop defending the immoral and evil actions of President Trump. This is not about past administrations and their failures (many of which we can agree upon). This is not about “the deep state” or Republican or Democrat ideologies. This is about being true to Christ. It is about putting Jesus before political party, and even before national allegiance. Christians have a higher calling as we are not residents of this world but are pilgrims here (Hebrews 11:13-16). Part of that calling is standing up for God and His Word, even when it conflicts with politics and politicians. Many Christians have chosen these things over Jesus, and it needs to be repented of.
At the same time, let us continue to pray for our President, as we have (hopefully) been doing for all of our past Presidents. After all, part of what God commands us is to pray for our leaders:
1 Timothy 2:1-4-Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men, 2 for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence. 3 For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, 4 who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.
Let us also use our voices to speak up for the oppressed, beginning with these police officers who were victimized on January 6.
The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit, be with you all. Amen.