President Donald Trump issued a blanket pardon for every person who was charged or convicted for their role in the Jan. 6, 2021, US Capitol riot, including one man who was found to have an extensive criminal record.
While the president referred to those charged and prosecuted as “patriots,” many have criticized the move from Trump. In the days leading up to his return to office, his own vice president, JD Vance, said that a blanket pardon should not be issued, but instead each case should be examined.
Now, a recent report from NPR has found that dozens of defendants who were granted clemency have prior convictions or pending charges for crimes including rape, sexual abuse of a minor, domestic violence, manslaughter, production of child sexual abuse material, and drug trafficking.
Among the defendants is Matthew Huttle, who, the IndyStar reported, was recently shot and killed by law enforcement in Indiana during a traffic stop, days after being pardoned for his role in the riot.
For the Capitol attack, in 2023 Huttle pleaded guilty to entering and remaining in a restricted building, earning him six months in prison.
Prosecutors previously noted that Huttle had “an extensive criminal history that demonstrates a pattern and practice of disrespecting and disobeying the rule of law, which is consistent with his actions on Jan. 6, 2021.”
One incident involved Huttle spanking “ his 3-year-old son so hard that he left bruises all over the child’s backside and the child’s neck, and the child had such extreme pain on his backside that he could not sit properly for a week,” prosecutors said. This saw him receive 2 and a half years behind bars.
He also had a history of being arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol numerous times. His defense attorney said his criminal record history was caused by “extreme alcohol abuse.”
Several other defendants who were pardoned by Trump are also seeing unrelated criminal cases remain ongoing at this time.
Andrew Taake of Texas entered a guilty plea to assaulting police officers with bear spray and a “metal whip” on Jan. 6. He was sentenced to six years in prison.
Before that sentencing, Taake had been fighting a 2016 case against the Harris County District Attorney in Texas, where he allegedly sent sexually explicit messages to someone he thought was a 15-year-old girl but was an undercover cop, prosecutors said.
David Daniel of North Carolina has been charged with the “Production of Child Pornography” and the “Possession of Child Pornography.” Prosecutors allege that the content “involved a prepubescent minor” and a child under the age of 12.
“The government’s forecast of evidence is compelling and suggests Defendant engaged in sexual acts with two young girls in his own family,” Magistrate Judge David Keesler wrote in Daniel’s case. “It is also alleged he took and kept photos of the genitalia of the victims. The mother of one victim (Defendant’s ex−wife) appeared in court to request that Defendant not be released.”
Daniel has pleaded not guilty to those charges but did plead guilty to a charge of assaulting police officers on Jan. 6. However, he was not yet sentenced when the pardon was issued.
Daniel Ball of Florida allegedly threw an “explosive device that detonated upon at least 25 officers” during the capitol riot, an arrest warrant shows. He pleaded not guilty to the charges he faced for the Capitol riots.
Charging documents show that Ball had a criminal record before his arrest for the Jan. 6 riot, which included “Domestic Violence Battery by Strangulation,” “Resisting Law Enforcement with Violence,” and “Battery on Law Enforcement Officer.”
It is important to note that the pardoned defendants only saw their charges and were convicted of “offenses related to events that occurred at or near the United States Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021,” forgiven, not any other outstanding cases.