Pardoned Jan. 6 defendant backs Trump’s push to turn tables on Democrats
When Phillip Crawford talks about President Donald Trump, the conversation tends to get loud.
“Trump is saving this country,” the Bremen resident known to friends as “Bunky” said with earsplitting conviction.
Crawford is a big fan.
It’s why he answered Trump’s call to come to Washington five years ago to hear him speak in a fiery address at the Ellipse. It’s also why he marched to the U.S. Capitol to demand Congress overturn an election he and his president declared stolen.
Crawford was among the nearly 1,600 people arrested in the years following the Capitol riot. When Trump was inaugurated Jan. 20, Crawford was awaiting sentencing on multiple felonies, including three counts of assaulting police.
Trump changed Crawford’s trajectory with a stroke of the presidential Sharpie.
While he is appreciative of the pardon, Crawford said it’s not enough. He wants former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and other prominent Democrats punished.
“Every one of them should be in prison,” he said.
Crawford is part of a group organizing a rally next Jan. 6 at Mar-a-Lago to thank the president and focus attention on what he said were the “crimes” the Biden administration’s Department of Justice perpetrated on Americans.
Georgians react
To gauge the effects of the administration’s first 100 days, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution spoke with residents who have lived with the results. Amid a blitz of executive orders, tariffs, lawsuits, layoffs and funding cuts, they’re exhausted, thrilled, scared, hopeful. Here are their stories:
An Emory research study on Alzheimer’s comes to abrupt halt
Shrimp boat owner hopes tariffs will revive local fishermen
From hopeful foster mom to unemployed CDC worker
Pardoned Jan. 6 defendant wants Democrats punished
Her husband was arrested by immigration agents
DEI rollbacks threaten Atlanta woman’s work
Tariff ‘gloom and doom’ for Atlanta wine seller
Atlanta entrepreneur steers clients through trade war
AJC poll: Trump’s support sinks in Georgia as economic fears rise
That level of exhilarated conviction translates to buoyant support for Trump’s policies — from mass deportations to tariffs.
“If it takes this country hurting before we get better, that’s the man to go with,” he said. “We want this country to last. We want this country to prosper. If it takes hurting, I’m all for it.”
More coverage of Trump’s effects on Georgia
The first 100 days: Georgians are scared, thrilled about changes
CDC cuts factor into Georgia Senate race
More logging in Georgia’s national forests? It’s possible under a new directive
After layoffs, federal employees navigate uncertain job market
Afraid of church: Some immigrant faithful stay away on Sunday
Georgia protests show growing resistance against Trump administration
About the Author
Joyner is the deputy politics editor. He has been with the AJC since 2010 as a member of the investigations and politics team.
