South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem dodged the question when asked if she agrees with former President Donald Trump that those who participated in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol should be pardoned, instead repeatedly stating on NBC's "Meet the Press" on Sunday that "each of those situations needs to be looked at separately."
Trump said earlier this year that one of his first actions while in the Oval Office if elected president would be freeing people imprisoned for participating in the attack at the Capitol, calling them "hostages," The Hill reported.
Host Peter Alexander repeatedly asked Noem if she agreed with the former president that those who participated in the attack should be pardoned, and the governor emphasized that it would be "based on [Trump's] prerogative and his decision when he looks at those cases."
"Each of those individuals needs to be looked at separately, as far as what their role was and what was happening in that situation," she said.
"What I have been very clear about is that we don't want to see another Jan. 6 again. Nobody in this country wants to see another day like that again.
"And I believe that Donald Trump, when he comes back to the White House and is in charge of this country, we're going to have incredible opportunities to show that people in this country will be safer, that we'll have law and order back in our streets."
She added: If you look at one of the most violent areas of our country is often Democrat-run cities, sanctuary cities with an open border."
Brian Freeman ✉
Brian Freeman, a Newsmax writer based in Israel, has more than three decades writing and editing about culture and politics for newspapers, online and television.
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