Trump's Jan. 6th riot pardons draw criticism; Tarrio's lawyer speaks out
MIAMI - President Donald Trump's pardons of those who were convicted of participating in the Jan. 6th Capitol riots have drawn criticism from those impacted.
On Monday, Trump issued pardons for 1,500-plus people charged with participating in the riot, including people convicted of assaulting police officers.
"Six individuals who assaulted me as I did my job on January 6th, as did hundreds of other law enforcement officers, will now walk free," said Michael Fanone, a former Capitol Police officer who responded to the riot.
"My family, my children and myself are less safe today because of Donald Trump and his supporters."
Heading home after pardon
Enrique Tarrio, the former leader of the far-right Proud Boys, has been released from prison and is returning home to Miami.
"I can tell you he's ecstatic about being released," said Tarrio's attorney, Nayib Hassan, speaking outside the federal courthouse in downtown Miami on Tuesday.
Tarrio had been serving a 22-year sentence for seditious conspiracy, one of the harshest sentences handed down for his role in the attack on the U.S. Capitol.
During his trial, Tarrio expressed regret for the events of January 6, Hassan said.
"He pretty much apologized for what happened on January 6th. He was extremely apologetic, even during the trial itself, for what transpired to some of the officers."
Also pardoned
Tarrio's release comes as other defendants also leave prison.
Gilbert Fonticoba, another Proud Boys member, walked out of federal prison near Orlando early Tuesday.
Videos shared with CBS News Miami showed Fonticoba reuniting with his family in Hialeah.
"It was epic," Fonticoba said about seeing his brother for the first time in months. "He texted me, thank God you're home."
Fonticoba, who had been sentenced to 48 months for obstruction of an official proceeding and civil disorder, expressed no regrets about his participation in the Capitol riot but criticized security failures.
"They shouldn't have allowed January 6th to happen because they should have been more prepared," he said.
Photos from his indictment show Fonticoba near the front of the mob, helping people climb walls and entering the Capitol Rotunda.
"No violence," he insisted about his actions. "Yes, I went into the Capitol. When I went down the hall and I saw the cops waving us down, I said this was a trap, I turned around and I had to fight thousands of people to get out."
Federal prosecutors previously stated that Fonticoba celebrated the breach, reportedly exclaiming in phone calls, "We breached the Capitol building!"
