One of those defendants caught on camera was Polk County’s Jonathan Pollock, who federal authorities said fought with and used a riot shield against Capitol Police. After evading capture for three years, he was awaiting trial at the time of Trump’s pardon.

The Oath Keepers founder met with Republican Rep. Gus Bilirakis of Florida to lobby for a pardon for fellow Oath Keeper and January 6 rioter Jeremy Brown, who was sentenced to seven years in prison on weapons charges.

President Donald Trump pardoned all of the nearly 1,600 people charged in connection with the Jan. 6 riot at the Capitol and commuted the sentences for 14.

Just hours after his swearing-in ceremony on Monday, President Donald Trump pardoned the more than 1,500 people charged in connection to to the riot at the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021. The pardons and commuted sentences were extended to members and leaders of far-right groups,

President Donald Trump enacted this pardon just hours after his inauguration, making it one of 46 presidential actions Monday.

Joseph Biggs, a member of the Proud Boys from Ormond Beach, had a 17-year sentence commuted by Trump. Prosecutors said Biggs led a group of rioters chanting, “Whose house? Our house,” to tear down fencing and burst through barricades at the Capitol. Biggs famously bragged on video: “We’ve gone through every barricade thus far.”

Rhodes was sentenced to 18 years in May 2023 after a jury found him guilty of conspiring to stop the transfer of power and other charges. In September 2023, Tarrio, who asked Trump for a full pardon on the fourth anniversary of the insurrection, was sentenced to 22 years.

Rhodes and Tarrio were two of the highest-profile defendants Jan. 6 defendants and received some of the harshest punishments in what became the largest investigation in Justice Department history. Their attorneys confirmed to The Associated Press on Tuesday they had been released hours after Trump pardoned,

Several Florida names are on that list, including Joe Biggs of Ormond Beach, the leader of the Volusia County Proud Boys, and Oath Keepers Joseph Hackett, Kenneth Harrelson, Kelly Meggs and David ...

The founder of the extremist militant group was sentenced to 18 years for involvement in the January 6 attack on the Capitol.

A federal judge on Friday barred Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes, Florida chapter leader Kelly Meggs of Marion County, and others from entering Washington, D.C., without the court’s approval after President Donald Trump commuted the group leader’s 18-year prison sentence for orchestrating an attack on the U.