In my new column on the Jan. 6 riots, I argue that they were, in fact, violent riots and that President Donald Trump’s blanket pardon amounted to excusing extreme violence.

I reached out to Matt Braynard, who has been an activist for years on behalf of the Jan. 6 arrestees. I granted that some of these folks were overcharged, and I asked him for two things: Examples of the most overcharged individuals, in his opinion, and a broader defense of the blanket pardon, as opposed to individual clemencies for specific folks who were grossly mistreated.