Pritzker bans Jan. 6 protesters from states jobs

[February 05, 2025]  By Catrina Barker | The Center Square contributor

(The Center Square) – Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker has banned all Jan. 6, 2021, "rioters" from ever being employed by any branch of the state government. A Jan. 6 protester called on other protesters to apply and sue the state for discrimination.

In October 2021, Brandon Straka, the founder of "Walk Away,” pleaded guilty to one misdemeanor count of disorderly and disruptive conduct. Straka said the pardoned Jan. 6 protesters were cleared.

"I think everyone should probably just go now and any Jan. 6 defendant should go apply to work for the Illinois state government and then sue them. In fact, I may go do that myself right now because you can't just selectively decide that you're not going to employ a group of people whose convictions have been overturned, not to mention the fact that the vast majority are misdemeanors and I'm not even sure that you can prevent somebody with a misdemeanor conviction from seeking employment,” said Straka.

Pritzker said in a letter to Raven DeVaughn, director of the state’s Central Management Services (CMS), “No one who attempts to overthrow a government should serve in government.”

Straka said the left and Pritzker, for decades, have been crying for criminal justice reform and have been crying that our prisons are filled with Black men who had to plead guilty to crimes they didn't commit.

"[Black] men had to take plea deals and admit guilt in situations where they weren't truly guilty, now suddenly you've got a lot of Trump supporters who are finding themselves tied up and targeted by the justice system and suddenly all of these same people are saying, ‘oh no, the system's not weaponized,’” said Straka.

Straka said Democrats have used the term “convicted felon” to taunt Trump and, in the past, their message has been, “people deserve a second chance and a person shouldn't be defined by their criminal convictions.”

Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker
City of Chicago | Facebook

“These rioters were accused or convicted of a combination of felonies and misdemeanors, including but not limited to: violence against law enforcement officers, threats against Members of Congress, destruction of federal property, and many other crimes. These crimes threatened public safety as Members of Congress, staff, and other workers, who were forced to hide from the violence for hours,” Pritzker stated.

The Peacekeepers Program in Illinois is a violence prevention program where ex-convicts are publicly funded to resolve crime in Chicago with “conflict mediation.”

Straka was on the east side of the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, and never entered the Capitol building.

"What happened to the element of being able to serve your sentence and pay your debt to society and then move on with your life? Even if the J6ers are in fact guilty of what they're accused of, which in most cases they're not, … I was days away from completing a sentence that included four years of federal supervision, house arrests, jail time, fees, I did all of it, and now you're telling me even though I'm pardoned and I completed my sentence, I'm not allowed to have employment?” said Straka.

Pritzker cited the law in a letter that states that DeVaughn is required to reject candidates for state employment “who have engaged in infamous or disgraceful conduct.” Straka suggested Illinoisans stop voting for people like Pritzker.

"It's ridiculous to use tax money [to settle inevitable lawsuits] to discriminate against one group of people based on who they voted for,” said Straka. “Stop voting these people into office.”