Amid MAGA Battle In NJ, Jack Ciattarelli Walks Back Opposition to Pardons for Jan. 6 Rioters
Amid MAGA Battle In NJ, Jack Ciattarelli Walks Back Opposition to Pardons for Jan. 6 Rioters
According to Politico, “three of the four major Republican candidates for New Jersey governor have explicitly endorsed at least some of President Donald Trump’s pardons of people who stormed the Capitol in his name on Jan. 6, 2021.”
That includes Jack Ciattarelli, who “previously said people who broke the law should not be pardoned.” Now, with his MAGA bona fides in question amidst a nasty GOP primary, Ciattarelli is changing his tune, claiming that “President Trump was right to pardon the men and women present at the Capitol on January 6th…”
Ciattarelli’s change of heart comes as his primary opponent, talk radio host Bill Spadea, has emerged as a leading advocate for pardoning these rioters, including having one of the pardon recipients, who “pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct” on his show, and penning an op-ed titled “Yes, I support President Trump’s pardons.”
This is just the latest sign that New Jersey’s GOP gubernatorial primary is becoming an ugly brawl to see who can stake out the most extreme MAGA territory. Last week, a super PAC supporting Spadea launched a new digital ad hammering Ciattarelli for his unsuccessful bids for governor in both 2017 and 2021, and calling to “stop the perennial candidates, the losers, and the RINOs.” Just days earlier, Ciattarelli launched a new website slamming Spadea for being “phony MAGA,” and accusing him of not being loyal enough to Donald Trump.
“Facing allegations that he isn’t MAGA enough, Jack Ciattarelli continues to show that he’s willing to do and say anything to make it out of this primary, including going back on his word and embracing violent rioters who attacked police officers,” said DGA States Press Secretary Emma O’Brien. “While New Jersey’s Republican field stays focused on far-right loyalty tests, they’re ignoring New Jersey families and proving they can’t be trusted to take on the issues that actually matter to voters.”
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