Senator Ricketts on Law Enforcement Appreciation Day

By Gordon Hopkins Ahead of National Law Enforcement Appreciation Day on January 9, 2026, U.S. Senator Pete Ricketts (R-NE) held a press conference to thank the law enforcement officers and discussed the problem of recruiting and retaining law enforcement in the rural counties of Nebraska. Ricketts said, “Officers across Nebraska work hard to prevent crime and protects families. They face danger and serve with courage. That's why I fight every day to support Nebraska Law Enforcement in 2026. I will work to make our streets safer by supporting our law enforcement era. Nebraska's women and men in blue are a model for the rest of the nation. For example, the Omaha Police Department keeps us safe by achieving 100 percent homicide clearance rate each of the last two years. Meanwhile, the national clearance rate has slowed 60 percent. Omaha continues to see murder rates decrease every year. In fact, the number of murders in Omaha has decreased in each of the last four years. Their success is a testament to their commitment to excellence. This commitment to excellence is also seen with our federal law enforcement officials in Nebraska.” When asked about rural areas, the senator responded, “One of the things we're doing right now is working to pass our appropriation bills through a regular order process. And in the briefing that we just received with regard to the three bills the house will take up on Thursday, is one that will involve the law enforcement that we will be seeing the types of grants that generally benefit our local law enforcement agencies like our county sheriffs.” Senator Ricketts was also asked about a timeline recently posted on the official White House website regarding the events that took place at the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021. According to that timeline, “On his first day back in office, January 20, 2025, President Trump issued sweeping blanket pardons and commutations for nearly 1,600 patriotic Americans prosecuted for their presence at the Capitol—many mere trespassers or peaceful protesters treated as insurrectionists by a weaponized Biden DOJ.”Critics have disputed that characterization and point out more than 140 police officers were injured on January 6, 2021, one of whom, Officer Brian Sicknick, died the next day from strokes after being assaulted with pepper spray. Senator Ricketts said, “I have not seen the timeline you're describing. As governor, you may recall that I condemned the violence of that day, and that those people acted and on their own to be able to attack the Capitol, and that's not something that we should be doing as citizens of this country. In fact, what we have is strong institutions that actually demonstrate that even though we had the violent capitol that day, that the certification election continued and our institutions continued, so we should always condemn the kind of violence.”

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