Here's why two January 6 Capitol rioters turned down Trump's pardon offer

After Trump's speech urging a march to Congress with fraud claims, the Capitol riot occurred; he was charged with conspiracy to overturn the 2020 election, but the case was dropped post-re-election

At least two individuals convicted for their involvement in the US Capitol riots on January 6, 2021, have publicly declined the pardon offered by President Donald Trump. Jason Riddle and Pamela Hemphill both said that their actions were not worthy of pardon and that accepting the clemency would only contribute to the false narrative that the attack was merely a ‘peaceful protest’.

 

Pamela Hemphill, 71, spoke to The Guardian last week, explaining that she was fully accountable for her role in the efforts to halt the certification of Joe Biden’s 2020 election victory. She said that accepting the pardon would lend credibility to misleading claims about the nature of the Capitol attack. In 2022, Hemphill pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor for participating in an unlawful demonstration at the Capitol, resulting in a 60-day prison sentence and three years of probation.

 

Jason Riddle, a US Navy veteran, also rejected the pardon, citing his desire to avoid attracting undue attention to his past when seeking future employment. Having served a 90-day prison sentence and paying a $750 fine in 2022 after pleading guilty to misdemeanor charges related to the Capitol riot incident, Riddle told New Hampshire Public Radio that he felt that a presidential pardon would likely bring more scrutiny. “I’m thinking down the road [if] an employer looks in my background, they see misdemeanors... with a presidential pardon — I think that tends to draw more attention,” he explained.

 

The report said that court records show that Riddle entered the US Senate parliamentarian’s office on January 6, 2021, where he drank wine, stole a book, and caused damage to the Capitol. Reflecting on his actions, Riddle said, “It’s almost like [Trump] was trying to say it didn’t happen. And it happened. I did those things, and they weren’t pardonable. I don’t want the pardon. And I ... reject the pardon.”

 

Riddle, who served in the US Navy from 2006 to 2010 and has held various jobs including corrections officer and mail carrier, admitted he was not in recovery from alcoholism when he participated in the Capitol attack. He also shared that he stopped supporting Trump after the former president encouraged protests amid legal challenges related to a hush-money scandal involving adult film star Stormy Daniels.

 

The Capitol riot occurred after Trump delivered a speech to his supporters near the White House, reiterating false claims of election fraud and urging them to march to Congress. Trump was later charged with conspiracy in an attempt to overturn the 2020 election results. However, the case was dropped after he was re-elected president in November.

 

After regaining the presidency, Trump granted pardons or commutations to over 1,500 individuals convicted in connection with the Capitol attack, which was carried out in his name.

 

[With agency inputs]