They stormed the US Capitol in 2021
BreitbartAPR 28 2024
Two Jan. 6 Defendants Turn Down Trump's Pardon
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 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.