January 6th was a travesty where a man who resoundingly lost the election lied to his followers and they committed a disgraceful display of violence, intimidation and vandalism at the formal transfer of power.

Dozens of participants have been arrested, many convicted, and many lost their jobs and had their lives destroyed by their actions that day. Several people died directly or indirectly as a result.

While such actions deserve harsh punishment and accountability, not every person who entered the Capitol illegally was engaged in violent acts. Many of these people thought they were protesting and got caught up in the fervor of the moment.

The Left understands this because many nonviolent protestors get caught up in protests that get out of hand.

This has led to the rightwing to feel like there is a double standard where Leftwing anarchists and BLM protestors get treated differently (obviously context matters, but...) Trump has used this "hypocrisy" to rally his base, promising to pardon the participants when he gets back in office.

Joe pardoning the participants not convicted of violent acts would cut deep into Trump's narrative. Not only would it steal his thunder, but it would put a potential President Trump in the uncomfortable position of pardoning the violent protestors who assaulted cops and stuff.

It would show that Democrats can be magnanimous even to the most extreme partisans, and lower the temperature that feeds Trump fever. I think is a good idea, but I could also see how it might undercut Democrats' "insurrection" narratives or create a cloak of acceptability for such actions.