CNN
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Far-right militia leaders and other US Capitol rioters who were convicted of violently assaulting police were released from prison overnight under President Donald Trump’s mass pardons and commutations, as his ally Elon Musk threatened that the new administration might prosecute those responsible if they slowed down… . Additional prisoners released.
Oath Keepers founder Stuart Rhodes and former Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio, both convicted of seditious conspiracy and serving lengthy prison sentences, were released early Tuesday. Two brothers convicted of violent crimes were released late Monday from prison in Washington, D.C., and a Trump White House aide credited Musk with their quick release.
“Elon Musk knew about this and was the mastermind behind it in a number of ways,” White House aide Paul Ingrassia said. Outside the capital prison Monday night, still wearing my inaugural ball suit, about the first two prisoners to be released there.
The tech billionaire and Tesla CEO expressed his support for released convicts with a heart-shaped emoji on his social media platform X. In response to unverified claims from right-wing figures that prison officials were delaying some upcoming releases, Musk said Encourage family members From the guest: “Let us know if you encounter any difficulties.”
Convicted Capitol rioters continue to be released from prison Tuesday, with reports coming in from around the country and supporters posting celebratory messages online. Probation conditions, such as travel restrictions, no longer hinder rioters who have already completed their sentences and are seeing their civil rights restored, such as the right to purchase a gun.
In one of his first official acts in the Oval Office, Trump signed a sweeping pardon order on Monday, pardoning all 1,250 convicted Jan. 6 rioters, commuting the prison sentences of 14 members of far-right groups, and directing the Justice Department to fire 14 people from far-right groups. Nearly 300 cases are pending. These moves essentially end all January 6 cases.
Trump releases violent extremists and rioters
A lawyer connected to the Rhodes case confirmed that the Oath Keepers leader has been released from a Maryland prison where he was serving an 18-year sentence for seditious conspiracy and other criminal charges. Rhodes was one of 14 convicted Jan. 6 rioters linked to far-right groups who received reduced sentences rather than a full pardon.
Unlike the vast majority of those charged on January 6, Rhodes did not enter the Capitol that day. But prosecutors said he and his co-conspirators conspired after the 2020 election to violently sabotage the transfer of power, and that he “coordinated” from outside the Capitol with fellow Oath Keepers who infiltrated the complex. Convicted in 2022.
Tarrio, the former Proud Boys boss who was also convicted of seditious conspiracy in 2023, was released from prison on Tuesday, according to his attorney.
Tarrio was serving his 22-year sentence in a federal prison in Louisiana, one of the longest sentences handed down in the January 6 trials. Trump pardoned Tarrio but issued limited commutations to several of Tarrio’s co-conspirators in the Proud Boys case.
Other violent rioters on January 6 who were behind bars have also been released.
Isaac Sturgeon, who was convicted of assaulting police, has been released from an Ohio prison. His mother I posted a picture of him on social media early Tuesday saying: “Isaac is free!” His lawyer also confirmed to CNN that he had been released.
Sturgeon was sentenced to six years in prison for crimes including assaulting police with a large metal bike rack.
and Danielle GrayTrump, who was serving a 2 1/2-year prison sentence for shoving an officer in the Capitol Rotunda — where Trump was sworn in on Monday — was released from federal prison in Georgia early Tuesday, his lawyer told CNN. CNN. After the attack, he bragged that he was “one of the first in D.C.” and said it was “the rowdiest thing I’ve ever done,” prosecutors said.
Some of the Jan. 6 rioters gained their newfound freedom by visiting the casino, according to photos obtained by CNN. Brian Mock, who has already completed his prison term for assaulting officers and stealing a riot shield, said he arrested fellow riot convict Salvador Sandoval from a federal prison in Minnesota. They later posted smiling photos inside the casino. (Sandoval was too Found guilty for assaulting several officers.)
“It was a good day, that’s for sure,” Mock told CNN.
Most of the 1,250 pardoned rioters have already served their prison terms, were never sent to prison in the first place, or have not yet been sentenced for their crimes, and will never be sentenced because the Justice Department dismisses their cases.
For those not behind bars, the greatest impact of a pardon will be Restore their civil rights.
“There are hundreds of different civil consequences — formal, written into laws, and informal, in the form of discrimination — that occur if you have a criminal conviction,” said Margaret Love, who worked at the Justice Department as a U.S. pardon attorney. From 1990 to 1997. “You couldn’t get jobs, you couldn’t get licenses, you couldn’t own or own a firearm.”
A former FBI official reacts to the Oath Keeper being released from prison after Trump’s pardon
Jacob Chansley, who gained worldwide notoriety for roaming the Capitol wearing horns and furs as a “QAnon shaman,” said Monday night that he is eager to take advantage of his new gun rights. He pleaded guilty to felony obstruction and was sentenced to three years in prison. He was released in early 2023, and Trump pardoned him on Monday.
“Now I’m going to buy some MOTHA FU*KIN RIFLES!!!” Chancelli to publish To X.
Over the years, the defendants on January 6 complained of being fired from their jobs, Ostracized by friendsand delete it from social networking sites, and Canceled credit cards. Some defendants said their convictions affected child custody disputes and divorce cases.
“There is a huge element of psychological need to be forgiven and welcomed back into the community,” Love said of her clients, who have nothing to do with Jan. 6, and have received clemency over the years. “No one wants a felony conviction. People feel that a pardon is a kind of formal pardon and the removal of that cloud, even if they are not suffering from a legal impediment.”
Musk’s celebration – and the threats
In a flurry of social media posts, Musk expressed his support for the convicted rioters, including by reposting a photo of the brothers who were released from a D.C. jail late Monday.
Andrew Valentine and Matthew Valentine were both sentenced last week to 2 1/2 years in prison for the felony offenses and were still in a D.C. prison when Trump granted the pardon on Monday. During the riot, Matthew Valentine tried to rip a baton off an officer, and Andrew Valentine threw a chair onto the police line. They both pleaded guilty in September to assaulting police.
A lieutenant from one of Musk’s companies was present at the prison.
Christopher Stanley, senior engineering security officer at SpaceX and X, to publish And he “was on the ground to ensure this was implemented.” Stanley stood by Ingrassia when he announced outside the prison Monday night that the brothers had been released.
Musk He replied To the post that contains the “heart” emoji. Stanley did not respond to a request for comment.
But some X users reported to Musk about posts containing unverified claims of a deliberate delay in the release of some rioters on January 6.
Billionaire books Members of January 6 support groups should “let us know if you encounter any difficulties in releasing your loved ones.”
Him too He issued a public threat“If a judge finds that some in the Department of Corrections acted unlawfully, they may, ironically, find themselves in the same cell as the person who assaulted them,” he wrote.
Outside the D.C. jail on Tuesday morning, a handful of supporters of the Jan. 6 rioters gathered, including one rioter who has already served time in prison and received a pardon from Trump.
Another convicted rioter, Rachel PowellShe walked out of the facility Tuesday afternoon, later telling reporters that a prison official woke her with a flashlight before she was eventually released.
Rioters support groups say they believe there are about 20 detainees being held in the prison.
Those convicted on the January 6 charges who have already been sentenced were likely to be in federal Bureau of Prisons facilities across the country, rather than the local jail in Washington, which operated as a detention facility where a small number of detainees were awaiting trial or sentencing.
The group was included outside the capital’s prison on Tuesday morning Brandon Fellowswho was released from federal prison in May after a Trump-appointed judge sentenced him to three years and a month in prison, plus probation. He is one of the beneficiaries of the amnesty.
Prosecutors say the associates entered the Capitol during the riot through a broken window, filmed rioters entering the building, breaking down a door, carrying a “Trump 2020” flag, then smoking marijuana inside the Senate office and harassing police officers. The jury convicted the associates of felony obstruction of congressional proceedings, as well as several misdemeanors.
A Capital Prison spokesman did not respond to CNN’s requests for information.
In the nearby Capitol Hill neighborhood, the defendants gathered on January 6, along with their family members and allies, in a house they had rented for several years. Leader of a support group I posted a picture on Tuesday from Rhodes after he was released along with several other defendants.
One of the convicted rioters smiling next to Rhodes in the photo, James Grant, was recently refused permission by a judge to travel to D.C. for Trump’s inauguration. Because he was on probation, he needed to obtain court approval to travel outside North Carolina. He was pardoned on Monday and completed his probation. It is not clear when Grant arrived in Washington.
But there was also some bipartisan condemnation of the clemency, which a majority of Americans opposed, according to a poll conducted before Monday.
Victims of the Capitol riot have spoken out, including the family of U.S. Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick, who was injured in the siege and died a day later from strokes. His family said they hoped “the truth of what happened on that tragic day will persist,” despite the clemency.
“We are proud of our son’s defense of American democracy, and the continued efforts of his fellow officers to protect the seat of government and the Constitution that guides it; our thoughts are with them as they deal with everything that has happened, and we pray for their strength and fortitude to continue their important mission.”
CNN’s Jamie Jungel, Hannah Rabinowitz and Gabe Cohen contributed to this report.