Pardons were a start, not the finish.

By Cynthia Hughes and Enrique Tarrio

Cynthia Hughes and Enrique Tarrio sat down together to write this letter because they have both lived the fallout of January 6 in very real ways. Cynthia carried it from the outside as an aunt and advocate. Enrique carried it from the inside as one of the people the system came for. What follows is a joint statement shaped by both of their experiences and their shared belief that this moment calls for seriousness, not self-sabotage.

In the early days after January 6, as the arrests began and the scope of what had been unleashed slowly became reality, many of us were operating in the dark. We didn’t understand the machine that had been turned against us. We only knew that something big and scary was happening and that the systems Americans are taught to trust were not for us.

Like so many of you, we searched for answers, guidance, and help. Families were in shock. People were suddenly terrified of their own government. The ground was shaking and shifting under all our feet.

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In that early period, I, Cynthia Hughes, reached out to Harmeet Dhillon. And believe it or not, Harmeet took the call. She sat there and listened. She was honest, and she gave the best advice she could at the time. That mattered so much back then, and it still matters now.

That’s one reason it’s been very difficult to watch the attacks against her from our own side. Look, we understand the anger and why some of the comments made early on still sting today. We understand that many in this community are still carrying the financial, emotional, and personal weight of what was done to them. That pain is real. But pain alone can’t be the only lens through which we make every decision going forward.

The truth is, many people came to understand the full scope of January 6 over time, as more information came out and people’s perspectives changed. That was true for a lot of people inside the community, and it was true for people outside it as well. Yes, what happened in the past matters, but it’s not the only thing that matters.

What matters now is what people are willing to do with the power they have.

We all understand that Enrique Tarrio has every reason to distrust the Department of Justice. He’s lived through what a weaponized DOJ can do. He saw firsthand what it did to him and his family and to others like Joe Biggs. He knows exactly how those buildings operate, what kind of arguments get made in those courtrooms, and how casually the regime justified what it did to our people.

And yet, even with that skepticism, Enrique isn’t hopeless. He’s had hope since the night Donald J. Trump was reelected. He believes the President means what he says about correcting the abuses of the last four years. But even before President Trump gave him his life back through a full pardon, there was already one person Enrique had been watching closely: Harmeet Dhillon.

Why? Because she’s shown a willingness to fight in places where many others won’t.

She fought for Andy Ngo when the system looked the other way after he was violently attacked. She even sued Antifa on his behalf. She also sued the city of Portland. She defended Andy publicly when almost no one else would. She also fought for President Trump when doing so came with great professional and political risk. No, those moves don’t magically erase every criticism. But they do establish a new pattern. She’s stepped into these fights before, and she’s done it for people the establishment was perfectly happy to destroy.

We’ve also seen what she’s done inside the Civil Rights Division. And yes, we’ve heard the criticisms too. But we’re not interested in making judgments based on online noise. We’re focused on actions, authority, and outcomes. What matters most is the work itself and the fact that Harmeet has increasingly become a serious voice on the injustices done to January 6 defendants.

That’s why we won’t join the social media mob against her.

If the reports are true, and Harmeet Dhillon is moving into a more powerful role at the DOJ, whether that means heading the Civil Division or taking the number three post, then we believe she deserves a fair hearing from this community. But let’s be clear. We’re not asking for a blank check or blind trust. We just want a fair hearing.

President Trump has already made clear that pardons and commutations weren’t meant to be the end of the J6 story. They were a critical first step, but they didn’t fix the underlying rot. Weaponization still exists, and families are still rebuilding their tattered and torn lives. There’s still urgent work to be done if this country is serious about restoration, accountability, and real reform.

Anyone stepping into a major DOJ role right now would be walking into a very different standard than the one we saw under Biden. The message from the White House is that time is short and action is expected. If Harmeet takes a bigger role, she will be serving at the pleasure of President Trump, and she will be accountable to the standards he’s set.

We also believe Harmeet has the credentials, toughness, and the President’s trust. More importantly, we believe she may be willing to look at these January 6 cases and reach the same conclusion many of us have: pardons were necessary, but they weren’t enough. The underlying convictions need to be addressed. Weaponization needs to be exposed. And where possible, it must be corrected.

That’s no small ask or task. It’s a profound duty. And if she’s stepping into a role with the power to help move that process forward, then this community should be smart enough to recognize the difference between skepticism and self-sabotage.

We’re not asking anyone to forget the things that hurt them. We’re not asking anyone to lower their standards. Actually, we’re saying the exact opposite. The standard should be high. Very high. If Harmeet takes this role, she should be held to the same standard President Trump has set for every official entrusted with repairing what’s been broken.

That’s where we stand… in a place of calculated hope, based on action, experience, and the reality of this moment. We’ve seen her fight. Now we need to see whether she is willing to fight even harder, with real power in her hands, for the people and families who matter most.

The January 6 community simply can’t afford to tear down every single person who might be in a position to help deliver the next phase of justice. We also can’t afford to be naive. That’s why this moment calls for seriousness, not online theatrics.

If we want to be heard by leadership, and if we want to be taken seriously by the people now positioned to make decisions, then we need to speak with clarity, discipline, and purpose. Name-calling, internal division, and emotional pile-ons only weaken our voice.

There’s still a great deal left to do. Many families are still picking up the pieces while waiting for the system that destroyed them to be confronted. That work will require pressure, unity, and a clear-eyed willingness to judge people not by old clips alone, but by what they can do with power when the moment arrives.

That’s why we’re making this case now.

If Harmeet Dhillon is indeed stepping into a larger role, we’re willing to give her a fair shot. We’ll support what’s right, and we’ll oppose what’s not. And we will hold her, as we would anyone in that position, to the highest standard.

We believe this is the winning formula for all J6’ers and their families.

With respect and resolve,

Cynthia Hughes @realpfp
Enrique Tarrio @NobleOne

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