Many of the Jan. 6, 2021 insurrectionists are free from criminal charges, courtesy of a mass pardon from Trump, but they are not free to serve in the California National Guard, a state lawmaker said in a letter to Gov. Gavin Newsom last week. Sen. Tom Umberg, D-Santa Ana, a retired U.S. Army colonel, sent a letter to the governor reminding him that SB 901, which Newsom signed last September, gives Newsom the power to “to refuse entry of any of the convicted January 6th Insurrectionists from commission or enlisting in the California National and State Guards.” Umberg called Trump’s pardon “gravely concerning.” Trump has called the Capitol rioters “hostages” and has said that they were the victims of a politicized U.S. Department of Justice. Rioters injured more than 140 police officers in their attack on the Capitol, according to NBC News. “Those who would violate their oaths to the Constitution by violently attempting to overturn the results of a legitimate election by the people should not be allowed to defend it. Moreover, we should not use taxpayer money to train them in the use of lethal force,” Umberg wrote in the letter.

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