It appears that Mr. Matthew Klein is unwilling or incapable of learning the most important lessons from his conviction (“Baker City man who pleaded guilty in Jan. 6 Capitol riots discusses presidential pardon,” www.bakercityherald.com).

First, the reason for the Jan. 6 insurrection was most certainly not people “just asking questions” about the 2020 election. The evidence of Trump’s loss was overwhelming, overshadowed only by the mountains of evidence (largely Republican-supplied) that the events of that day were part of a well-organized and deliberate attempt at overturning the results of a fair, free and legal election even at the cost of police officers’ lives. Instead of backing the blue, they backed the coup.

Second, you went to prison on the basis of willful ignorance of the lies of others that did this to aggrandize themselves, not because you mattered in any way. Republicans used to style themselves as the “party of personal responsibility,” so the honorable thing to do here is what someone else has done — accept the consequences of your criminal choice and refuse the pardon.

Third, instead of accepting the consequences, the “law and order” faction of the GOP elects a convicted felon to the highest office in the land, who in turn pardoned others, including those that committed some of the most serious crimes a person can commit in this country. Since neither Trump’s nor the others involved in January 6th have had punishment that matches their actions, how will they make a principled case that other people’s criminal acts should matter?

Chris Esposito

La Grande