7 NH Jan. 6 Defendants Pardoned By Trump; Biden Pardons Family, Fauci

WASHINGTON, DC — In the first in a blizzard of executive actions after arriving at the White House Monday, the newly inaugurated 45th and 47th president of the United States pardoned more than 1,500 people charged in connection with the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, including seven from the Granite State, while the outgoing 46th president pardoned members of his family who have not been charged, dating back to January 2014.

President Donald Trump 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. Trump described the rioters as “hostages” and said he expected them to be freed shortly.

People convicted in New Hampshire include:

• Richard Zachary Ackerman, 22, of Salem, who pleaded guilty to civil disorder and theft of government property.
• Charles Anthony Espinosa, 42, of Pelham, who was charged with knowingly entering or remaining in any restricted building or grounds without lawful authority, knowingly, and with intent to impede or disrupt the orderly conduct of government business or official functions, willfully and knowingly utter loud, threatening, or abusive language, or engage in disorderly or disruptive conduct, at any place on capitol grounds with the intent to impede, disrupt or disturb congress, and parade, demonstrate, or picket on Capitol grounds.
• Thomas Gallagher, 62, of Bridgewater, who pleaded guilty to parading, demonstrating, or picketing in a Capitol building.
• Shawn Daniel Mahoney, 34, of Bristol, who was pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct in a Capitol building and parading, demonstrating, or picketing in a Capitol building.
• Kirstyn Niemela, 33, of Hudson, who was found guilty by a jury of entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds, disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted building or grounds, disorderly conduct in a Capitol building, and parading, demonstrating, or picketing in a Capitol building.
• Jason Daniel Riddle, 32, of Keene, who pleaded guilty to theft of government property and parading, demonstrating, or picketing in a Capitol building.
• Cindy Young, 67, of Bristol, who was found guilty by a jury of entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds, disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted building or grounds, disorderly conduct in a restricted building or grounds, and parading, demonstrating, or picketing in any of the Capitol buildings.

Those pardoned included former Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio, who was sentenced to 22 years in prison — the longest term of imprisonment among all of those charged with the Jan. 6 attack — on a conviction of seditious conspiracy.

Stewart Rhodes, the former leader of the Oath Keepers militia, who had received the second-longest sentence — 18 years — on his seditious conspiracy conviction was released from a Cumberland, Maryland, federal prison early Tuesday morning.

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.

“We are deeply thankful for President Trump for his actions today,” said James Lee Bright, an attorney who represented Rhodes.

“This marks a pivotal moment in our client’s life, and it symbolizes a turning point for our nation,” Tarrio attorney Nayib Hassan said in a statement. “We are optimistic for the future, as we now turn the page on this chapter, embracing new possibilities and opportunities.”

President Joe Biden pardoned siblings and their spouses on his way out of the White House, saying Monday his family had been “subjected to unrelenting attacks and threats, motivated solely by a desire to hurt me — the worst kind of partisan politics.”

The family pardons were the surprise finale in a series of unprecedented presidential actions by the Democrat, who has been known as an intuitionalist during his half-century in politics. Biden also pardoned Dr. Anthony Fauci, retired Gen. Mark Milley, members of the House committee that investigated the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol — allies Trump had targeted.

None, however, have been charged.

Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., has argued Fauci had not accurately testified before Congress regarding gain-of-function research and the coronavirus pandemic, which is a crime.

A Congressional report on the failures and politicization of the Jan. 6 Select Committee reported facing “incredible obstacles in pursuit of the truth.” Across more than 120 pages, investigators found members, staffers, and bureaucrats deleted or refused to provide documents, hid evidence and filmed video footage, and offered false testimony during a two-year investigation of the committee. Those involved in false testimony and destruction of evidence could also be brought up on charges.

The Associated Press contributed reporting.