There should be no pardons for lawbreaking rioters from four years ago | Opinion
Trump can no longer claim that Jan. 6, 2021 was a “day of love.” The election of 2024 proved that. When Republicans lose, there are riots. When Democrats lose, there is a peaceful transfer of power. There should be no pardons for the lawbreakers, those who broke into Capitol, those who were arrested and jailed. These people are criminals.
Dewey Rochester, Charlotte
New Orleans attack
Anger, grief, dismay, hopelessness. These are some of the feelings I absorb and experience when a car kills revelers in New Orleans or a shooter takes out innocent people in place after place in our country. Yet, daily strikes on people trying to avoid violence in Gaza also break my heart.
The dead are acknowledged in brief articles with some reason these areas were targeted. I fear genocide is going on daily in Gaza, coupled with polite explanations.
Sam Roberson, Fort Mill
Power transfer
I watched Congress certify the 2024 presidential election. Unlike four years ago, there were no rallies or protests in Washington. The vice president did her job as president of the Senate, transferring power from one administration to the other.
In our short time as a country, we have always honored the tradition of counting the votes in a peaceful lawful way. That is until January 6, 2021. That day the loser, Donald Trump, could not accept the vote of the people. For months, he had lied about a “stolen election,” which culminated in the violence at the Capitol that horrible day.
For reasons that still elude me, the American people voted to put the man and party responsible for the chaos and violence that day back in power. Did the price of eggs outweigh the dangers to our democracy? It appears so.
Laura Reich, Charlotte
Birkdale Village
When considering any rezoning, such as that proposed for Birkdale Village in Huntersville, town commissioners must weigh the impact on established communities against the potential tax revenue, factoring in the additional costs to hard and soft infrastructure expenses to the town.
Spill-over traffic and crime into adjacent neighborhoods must be accounted for before any rezoning approval is given. Additional density requires additional emergency personnel, equipment, training and more within the new development and surrounding area.
These all represent costs to the town. Speeding and blocked streets pose the very real threat that emergency services will be hampered, increasing the potential damage to property and adverse medical and criminal outcomes. This requires more than additional signage. It requires additional, on-going enforcement of criminal and traffic ordinances. Failing in this compromises nearby property values and is an unacceptable trade off!
Suzanne Villar, Huntersville
Ukraine
Trump has asserted that the Ukraine’s bid to join NATO and its mishandling by Biden caused Russia to invade. He now wants to withdraw support in favor of NATO handling the situation. It is well known that Trump admires Putin and other dictator strongmen around the world, so this could have been anticipated.
Now that he is president, he must support NATO and must continue the policy of support for the Ukraine and the condemnation of Putin. Failure to do so will give credence to the belief among many that Trump’s ambitions are to become a dictator himself and at the very least to add a third term to his presidency.
No matter how much good he can do, this violates the principles upon which we declared our independence that we shall have no king. He must follow the Constitution like every other American.
Albert Dancy, Charlotte
Carter v. Trump
Former President Jimmy Carter is frequently remembered for promising when he was running for election that he “would not tell a lie.” President-Elect Trump’s credo by contrast seems to be he will tell lies repeatedly. Carter’s death and memorial service coming just days before Trump is to be inaugurated highlights the sharp difference in the two leader’s characters.
Dumont Clarke, Charlotte
This story was originally published January 12, 2025 at 5:00 AM.