Elon Musk has joined calls for President Trump to pardon ex-Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, who was convicted of murdering George Floyd in 2020. A Trump pardon would end Chauvin’s 20-year sentence on federal convictions for violating Floyd’s civil rights, but Trump does not have the power to commute Chauvin’s 22.5-year sentence on state murder charges.
Authoritarians equate fear with respect. Aggressively putting down a riot makes people scared = people respect them. It is the same reason Putin jails critics inhumanely or Kim kills families of defectors in NK. If people lose their fear of them these despots are powerless.