
WASHINGTON, DC – The Guardian disclosed this week another Jan. 6 attacker, who was convicted for the 2021 US Capitol attack, has rejected a pardon from President Donald Trump, claiming in an interview published by New Hampshire Public Radio (NHPR), “I don’t want the pardon. And I … reject the pardon.”
The Guardian reports that on Jan. 6, 2021, Jason Riddle accessed the US Senate parliamentarian’s office, drank a bottle of wine, stole a book, and created damage at the Capitol. He then received a 90-day prison sentence and a fine of $750 in April 2022 for pleading guilty to committing the misdemeanors in the attack.
The Guardian reports that, after Trump won the presidency in November, he gave blanket pardons or commutations to 1,500 plus people who were charged or convicted in the Capitol attack. A couple of the Capitol attackers ended up rejecting Trump’s clemency.
The Guardian wrote Riddle told NHPR that rejecting Trump’s pardon would benefit him with his future employment prospects.
He said, “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.”
Riddle said he stopped supporting Trump when he saw Trump was asking his supporters to protest for him when he was being charged with falsifying business records in a case that included hush-money payments to an adult film actor, Stormy Daniels.
The Guardian reported Riddle’s response was, ”I remember thinking, ‘What are you doing, Trump?’ Remember what happened at the (Capitol) riot? Someone might get hurt. Why would you ask people to protest?’”
The Guardian concluded Riddle’s rejection of the pardon came months after he ran as a Republican for one of New Hampshire’s two US House seats. He failed to advance out of the election primary in September.
That’s two out of 1500, big whoop. And BTW, both of the people were not in jail at the time of the pardon.
Generally slightly happier with this brand of Satan over the other brand of Satan. Slightly. Rather have a respectable human being to choose from. (Go Rob Roy!)
But really disgusted with Trump’s blanket pardon that included the violent offenders. If he had just pardoned those who stormed, or even caused minor property damage, I’d be OK with it, slightly more not OK with it than the pardon crap Biden pulled. But seriously, this pardoning of those who committed violent acts — going against what Trump himself said he would do — is exactly why Trump is not the right man for the job, even if the general vibe is shifting in a better direction. Trump is impulsive, shoots off his mouth, and does stupid things. I hope some of his deeds over four years make up for this, but he has this tendency to shoot himself in the foot and hitting other people with bullets in the process.
Alan I totally agree that the violent J6 offenders shouldn’t have been pardoned unless their sentences were unreasonably long. Vance had said that the violent offenders would not be pardoned but Trump is Trump and did it anyway.
Also the people who simply walked though the Capitol should’ve never been charged in the first place. I think what everyone saw BLM and Antifa get away with after the summer riots of 2020 led J6 protesters to believe that they had much leeway. It all came down to them being charged and convicted in D.C. liberal courts.
I agree that those who walked into the Capitol (and did nothing more than that) shouldn’t have even been charged. It would have been better if Biden spoke up about that, and issued pardons as appropriate.
I was “hoping” that the guy with the horns and face paint would be more thoughtful/reflective at this point, but he recently made some comments which caused me to question that.
Still, he gets the award for “best costume” – by far.