They stormed the US Capitol in 2021
BreitbartApr 11, 2024
Two Jan. 6 Defendants Turn Down Trump's Pardon
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Above: Trump supporters near the US Capitol following a Stop the Steal rally on Jan. 6, 2021, in Washington, DC. Image copyright: Selcuk Acar/Contributor/NurPhoto via Getty Images
The Facts
Jason Riddle — a US Navy veteran who served 90 days in jail over his actions on the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot — sent an email to the Department of Justice on Thursday to express his refusal to Pres. Donald Trump's "full, complete and unconditional" pardon.
In an interview with New Hampshire Public Radio that aired on Friday, he said his actions — stealing a bottle of wine and a book on Senate procedure — were unpardonable and that misdemeanors with a presidential pardon in his background could negatively affect his chances of landing jobs.
Riddle ran for the Republican nomination for New Hampshire's 2nd District last year, describing himself as a Jan. 6 "political prisoner with a message of hope. " He secured only 1.4% of the vote but eventually voted for former Vice Pres. Kamala Harris in the presidential race.
The Spin
Anti-Trump narrative
Like Hemphill and Riddle, most Jan. 6 convicts were non-violent offenders who had long paid the price for their actions that day and were already on probation. The presidential pardon was never about them. Trump comes up with this clemency only to free violent rioters who support him, so it's a matter of principles to turn it down.
Pro-Trump narrative
It's convenient and very selfish for these two to speak against the presidential pardon as they spent only a few months behind bars. That wasn't the case for many other non-violent offenders who had been in jail for years as Biden's Justice Department carried out a "shock and awe" campaign against them — and those are the ones Trump has pardoned.
