Following Donald Trump's comments about possibly pardoning Jan. 6 rioters if he is reelected in 2024, several Republicans have come forward disagreeing with the former president's comments.
On Sunday, New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu said that he disagrees with the former president on possibly letting those who stormed the Capitol off the hook.
The Republican governor shared his comments on CNN's "State of the Union," adding that those being charged need to see justice just like those responsible for damaging cities following the death of George Floyd in 2020.
"The folks that were part of the riots and, frankly, the assault on the US Capitol, have to be held accountable. There is a rule of law," Sununu said to CNN.
"I don't care whether you were part of burning cities in Antifa in 2020 or storming the Capitol in 2021, everybody needs to be held fairly accountable across," Sununu said.
When asked whether he thought they should receive a pardon, the governor's response was short and sweet, "of course not. Oh my goodness, no."
Trump made his comments while hinting at a possible run for the White House in the 2024 presidential election.
The former president said that he would treat those being persecuted "fairly" and that "if it requires pardons, we will give them pardons because they are being treated so unfairly."
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Former White House counsel for former President Richard Nixon, John Dean, didn't hold back sharing his thoughts on Trump's comments on Twitter.
"This is beyond being a demagogue to the stuff of dictators," Dean tweeted. "He is defying the rule of law. Failure to confront a tyrant only encourages bad behaviour. If thinking Americans don't understand what Trump is doing and what the criminal justice system must do we are all in big trouble!"
Other GOP members have also spoken out against Trump's comments, including Senator Susan Collins of Maine.
"I do not think the president should have made -- President Trump should have made that pledge to do pardons," Collins told ABC News. "We should let the judicial process proceed. January 6 was a dark day in our history."
Collins was one of seven GOP senators who voted to convict Trump in his second impeachment trial for the role he played in the capitol riots.
South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham also disagreed with Trump's comments while appearing on CBS's "Face the Nation."
"I don't want to send any signals that it was OK to defile the Capitol," Graham told CBS. "I want to deter what people did on January 6, and those who did it, I hope they go to jail and get the book thrown at them because they deserve it."
Since the Jan. 6 riot, the Department of Justice has charged more than 700 people in connection with the attack.
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