SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (TNND) — Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker’s office on Friday issued a letter barring those who participated in the Jan. 6, 2021 riot at the U.S. Capitol from being considered for state jobs, according to NBC News.

The letter reportedly directs the state’s Department of Central Management Services to deny jobs to applicants who participated in “infamous and disgraceful conduct that is antithetical to the mission of the State.” It justifies the decision by citing the state’s personnel code, which “provides the basis for the civil service merit system in Illinois.”

“These rioters attacked law enforcement officers protecting people in the Capitol, disrupted the peaceful transfer of power, and undermined bedrock principles of American democracy,” the letter reportedly reads. “No one who attempts to overthrow a government should serve in government.”

The governor’s office did not respond to multiple requests for comment from The National News Desk (TNND).

Gov. Pritzker’s move follows President Donald Trump’s decision to pardon those involved in the riots during his first week in office. That decision also sparked outrage from Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara, who penned an op-ed in the Minnesota Star Tribune calling the pardons “a slap in the face to those who serve.”

“The violence on Jan. 6 was not just an attack on a building; it was an attack on the rule of law,” O’Hara wrote in the op-ed. “By granting clemency, President Trump has erased years of investigation that has sought to bring some sense of justice.”

O’Hara in an appearance on a local radio show this week likened the country’s political landscape to religion, arguing Republicans inspire similar fervor and devotion from their followers.

“We are in a very sad state when people are following their politics to an extreme as if it’s a religion,” he said. “When they can actually excuse these pardons, it’s disgusting and everyone should be speaking out against it.”

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