Jon Bramnick’s disdain for Donald Trump is nothing new, Save Jerseyans, but the Never Trumper Republican state senator and 2025 gubernatorial candidate raised eyebrows on Wednesday by criticizing President Trump’s decision to pardon or commute the sentences of approximately 1,500 individuals who were accused of involvement in the January 6, 2021 Capitol Hill riot.
“President Trump has taken many encouraging actions on infrastructure, energy, securing the border and making the federal government more efficient in the first days of his administration. However, I do not support his pardon of the violent participants who attacked police in the actions of January 6th, 2021,” opined Bramnick. “Those convicted of violent actions against cops include Ryan Nichols who pleaded guilty to assaulting officers, David Dempsey who beat officers with a metal crutch and wooden poles and Daniel Rodriguez who used a stun gun multiple times on a police officer should remain in jail.”
“Republicans are proud to support law enforcement but if we are to remain consistent in that message, we cannot condone any violence against police – especially through presidential pardons,” Bramnick continued. “Other Republican candidates for Governor should do the same.”
Roughly 50 of those who received pardons or commutations have ties to New Jersey.
President Trump unapologetically defended his decision during a Tuesday press conference citing the harsher-than-normative sentences received by many of the convicted.
“They’ve served years in jail. They should not have served, and they’ve served years in jail. And murderers don’t even go to jail in this country,” Trump explained when questioned by a reporter, adding “[w]e pardoned people that were treated unbelievably poorly.”
Bramnick is competing with multiple candidates including 2021 nominee Jack Ciattarelli, NJ 101.5 radio host Bill Spadea, and Ed “The Trucker” Durr for the Republican gubernatorial nomination. The four main contenders including Bramnick will participate in a February 4th debate co-sponsored by SaveJersey.com at Rider University.
