Trump’s January 6 pardons and anti-LGBTQ extremism

 - by Spencer Macnaughton
   Op-Ed
   Uncloseted Media

This story was originally published by Uncloseted Media, an LGBTQ focused investigative news outlet.

Five years ago, on January 6, I was quarantining in Toronto, in my mom’s living room, watching the news as we sank into the boredom of another wave of the pandemic.

As the afternoon unfolded, shocking videos of people smashing the windows of the U.S. Capitol building, tackling D.C. police officers and stealing then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s laptop started filling our TV screen.

In real time, we watched what is now considered by many to be one of the darkest days in American history unfold. In the aftermath, we learned more about the iterations of hate affiliated with many of the more than 2,000 people who illegally broke into Congress. Members of the Oath Keepers, a far-right militia group, were joined by people donning outfits endorsing the Holocaust; a noose and gallows were erected outside the Capitol; and protestors marched with Confederate flags in hand.

But what was left out of much of the conversation were the ties many of the rioters had to anti-LGBTQ extremism. And it’s critical we don’t forget that, especially since Trump has pardoned about 1,500 defendants, whom he has described as “hostages.”

In addition, the White House describes the day—which included assaults on at least 174 police officers and left seven people dead—as “A date which will live in infamy” and one where “Thousands of Americans paid the price for political failures they did not create.”

The best example of these extremists is the presence of a sizable number of Proud Boys, a far-right extremist group that was named a terrorist entity in Canada in 2021. The group was founded by Gavin McInnes, who has written an article titled “Transphobia is Perfectly Natural,” where he describes trans people as “mentally ill gays who need help, and that doesn’t include being maimed by physicians.” He has also referred to trans people as “gender n*ggers.”

Beyond their founder lies a litany of examples where the group has tried to threaten and harass LGBTQ people. In the first six months of 2022, the group targeted 11 LGBTQ-related events, including nine during Pride month (which one Proud Boys chapter referred to as “groomer awareness month”).

They’ve also shown up armed at many events, including one in Nevada where they harassed folks at a Drag Queen Story Hour and another in Texas where they came out to protest a Pride event.

While they claim to be protecting kids, they’ve allegedly harassed Americans at adults-only events and yelled homophobic and transphobic slurs at kids in California.

Despite all of this, Trump has pardoned or commuted the sentences of at least eight current and former members of the Proud Boys who attacked the Capitol, including Enrique Tarrio, who was serving a 22-year sentence after he was convicted in 2023 of charges that included seditious conspiracy.

Five years later, it’s vital to continue to consider the danger and motivation behind these pardons. If Trump is making martyrs out of these folks, how far can he go? If anti-LGBTQ Trump loyalists escalate their threats into violence, will they be pardoned? If a MAGA superfan kills a gay or trans person, will they be sentenced fairly? Or will Trump give them a break because of their devotion to him?

These questions feel fueled with paranoia to even type out…

But are they really far-fetched when you look at the facts?

The Gayly online. 01/09/26 @ 6:31 a.m. CST.