I think it would go a long way to healing to just say that trespassing is pardoned.

Oh, is this the thing that will, if conceded, give the GOP a chance to redeem themselves, even if only infinitesimally? No. Of course not. The pundits will immediately spin this as "See? It really was just some lost tourists after all, and the prosecution was always overblown!". lol the idea of Tucker going on air even one single time to say "Hey, whattya know, maybe this Biden guy isn't the worst thing ever in the entire universe?!" is hilarious, dude.

Also, it does not matter that granting a pardon conflicts with other narratives; It was antifa, it was instigated by the feds, it was justified and Ashli Babbot is righteous, it never even happened, etc., because cognitive dissonance is staple of fascist movements.

Another issue is discerning who was violent and who was not. This isn't a point made in my own favor, as of course I believe in the principle of innocent until proven guilty. But the violence was very widespread, and the point of anyone trespassing was obviously to commit a crime by obstructing the official proceedings. Watch the footage! Nobody just strolled up, saw zero violence occurring, and moseyed into the building on accident. Everyone was on social media, fully aware of what was happening. The justice system has handled this admirably, imo, and has even handed out many lenient sentences below what prosecutors and the law have recommended. For justice to prevail, people need to be deterred from making, y'know, fucking insurrection attempts in the future. Thinking that a pardon somehow deters or protects against that is... No. No.

The election denialism "movement" continues. Extending an olive branch will be systematically exploited, and the democrats are spineless enough as it is.

I realize that many will perceive my own views as the other side of the coin of escalating extremism. It absolutely (sort of) is! I have no fucking idea what to do to de-escalate our politics. The MAGA movement will not subside, and there is no good-faith bargaining with them.