Just because something happened doesn’t make it “valid”: it’s not moral, and your side doing it may not have the same effect (good people can’t use evil tools as effectively as evil people).

I don’t really care whether Jan 6 rioters are free, they’ve spent months-to-years in jail anyways. What’s important is preventing future crimes, which punishing deserved people broadly on your side helps.

> Can they do it again

In 2028 if a Dem wins? At best they’re looking at another few years. (Trump won’t successfully pardon a crime as egregious as this (before anyone serves time) unless the Dem is really ineffective, because of how similarly it can be used against his side.)