Trump Pardons Jan. 6 Rioters From Lower Bucks Co.

LOWER BUCKS COUNTY, PA —Several of the 111 Pennsylvania people charged in connection with the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol who were pardoned by President Donald Trump were from Lower Bucks County.

Among them was a Bristol man who was convicted of multiple felony and misdemeanor charges for his involvement in the Jan. 6, 2021, riots. Trump pardoned more than 1,500 Jan. 6 rioters on Tuesday, in one of his first acts following his inauguration the day before.

Ryan Stephen Samsel, 40, was among five men found guilty in the District of Columbia last February on charges related to their conduct during the U.S. Capitol breach.

Samsel was found guilty of assaulting a police officer with a deadly or dangerous weapon (a metal crowd control barrier) while inflicting bodily injury, and obstruction of an official proceeding.

He was also convicted of additional felony charges of civil disorder, assaulting, resisting, or impeding certain officers; and assaulting, resisting, or impeding certain officers using a dangerous weapon (a wooden plank).

Meanwhile, also making Trump's pardon list was Raechel Genco, a 42-year-old Bristol Borough woman who was charged with entering a restricted building or grounds and disorderly conduct with the intent to disrupt government business.

Prosecutors say Genco was shown in a widely shared video with Samsel and that the two shared a home together at the time.

Gary Edwards, 72, of Churchville, was sentenced to probation and to pay restitution for his involvement in the Jan. 6 riots.

According to video footage and testimonies, Edwards, seen in a 'Make America Great Again' ski cap, took a bus with his ministry from Newtown to the National Mall on the day of the riots.

When the crowd began walking toward the Capitol building, he followed them, saying it was out of curiosity as to what was happening.

Once inside the building, Edwards took pictures, assisted protesters who had been tear-gassed and walked around the halls of the building, even calling his wife from the rotunda.

Leonard Person Ridge IV, 22, a Neshaminy High School graduate, was 19 at the time of the riots. He took videos of him entering the Capitol building and texted friends about the ordeal.

Despite Ridge's involvement with rioters who entered the offices of Senator Mitch McConnell and Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi, court documents said there was no proof Ridge himself did any damage to property while he was entering and inside the Capitol building. Despite that, he received a prison sentence.

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.”