Jan. 6 Defendants From Greenwich Issued Pardons

GREENWICH, CT — In his first wave of executive actions on Monday, President Donald Trump issued pardons to more than 1,500 people charged in connection with the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, including two brothers from Greenwich.

Overall, Trump pardoned 11 Connecticut residents.

Thomas and Michael Kenny, of Greenwich, were arrested in December 2023 and charged with disorderly conduct in a capitol building or grounds; parading, demonstrating, or picketing in a capitol building, according to court documents.

On Jan. 6, 2021, the brothers made entry to the U.S. Capitol building through the Upper West Terrace door, court documents say, noting they walked in a circle around the rotunda before exiting the building after about 30 minutes.

Thomas Kenny admitted to investigators in August 2021 that he was inside the U.S. Capitol building with his brother on Jan. 6, court documents note.

The brothers pleaded guilty last year and have been awaiting sentencing.

According to a sentencing memorandum filed last week, the brothers faced up to six months of imprisonment and a fine of up to $5,000.

A motion to dismiss the cases against the Kennys was filed Tuesday, citing Trump's executive order.

Trump also commuted the sentences of another 14 people, including leaders of the Oath Keepers and Proud Boys. These were charged with some of the most serious and high-profile cases.

The decision amounted to a sweeping cloak of impunity for Trump supporters who upended the country’s tradition of peaceful transfers of power by trying to overturn his election defeat four years ago. Trump described them as “hostages” and said he expected them to be freed shortly.

Trump also ordered the attorney general to seek the dismissal of roughly 450 cases that are pending before judges stemming from the largest investigation in Justice Department history.

Trump has claimed they were unfairly treated by the Justice Department, which also charged him with federal crimes in two cases he contends were politically motivated. Trump said the pardons will end “a grave national injustice that has been perpetrated upon the American people over the last four years” and begin “a process of national reconciliation.”

The pardons were met with elation from Trump supporters and lawyers for the Jan. 6 defendants.

Trump supporters gathered late Monday in the cold outside the Washington jail, where more than a dozen defendants were being held before the pardons.

Democrats slammed the move to extend the pardons to violent rioters, many of whose crimes were captured on camera and broadcast on live TV.

"These mass pardons are sickening— the ultimate disrespect for police officers who were assaulted brutally by criminal rioters, suffering lasting injuries, & death in some cases," Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) wrote in a post on X, formerly Twitter.

Read more on the CT residents affected by Trump's Jan. 6 pardons.

— The Associated Press contributed reporting.