46 Jan. 6 Defendants From MD Pardoned In Trump’s First Official Act

MARYLAND — In the first in a blizzard of executive actions after arriving at the White House Monday, newly inaugurated President Donald Trump pardoned more than 1,500 people charged in connection with the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, including 46 from Maryland.

Trump also 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.

The decision amounted to a sweeping cloak of impunity for Trump supporters, who upended the country’s tradition of peaceful transfers of power by trying to overturn his election defeat four years ago. Trump described them as “hostages” and said he expected them to be freed shortly.

People convicted in Maryland include:

Justin Lee of Rockville: This former Montgomery County police officer pleaded not guilty to multiple charges and was convicted on five charges, two felonies and three misdemeanors. Prosecutors said he threw a smoke bomb and other items at police. He was sentenced to 18 months incarceration; one year of supervised release; $7,500 fine; Special Assessment of $260. Read more: Former MOCO Cop Sentenced For Actions During Capitol Riot

Carlos Alberto Ayala of Salisbury: This member of the Maryland State Board of Elections was arrested and charged with felony civil disorder and other misdemeanor offenses for his role in the attack. He was seen in video footage at the U.S. Capitol building on Jan. 6, 2021, climbing over police barriers and then outside the Senate Wing Door as protesters breached that entrance. Investigators ssaid he may have thrown a flagpole at officers through an open window. Read more: MD Elections Official Charged For Role In Jan. 6 Capitol Riot: DOJ

Nicholas Juston Ortt of Mount Airy: He pleaded guilty to assaulting, resisting, impeding certain officers. Video showed Ortt struggling against a line of officers at the Capitol, eventually becoming the first protestor to break through. Read more: MD Man Arrested For Assaulting Cops During Jan. 6 Capitol Riot: DOJ

Brandon Heffner of Harford County: He pleaded guilty to a charge of civil disorder. Prosecutors said Heffner admitted to being a former member of The Proud Boys, but denied entering the Capitol building on Jan. 6. Federal agents said that on Jan. 6, Heffner helped hold shut a door to the Capitol building, preventing officers from exiting and deploying tear gas to disperse the crowd. Read more: Harford County Man Faces Charges For Involvement In U.S. Capitol Riots

Steven Cook of Frederick: He pleaded guilty to two counts of assaulting, resisting, or impeding certain officers for pushing through a police line on the west side of the Capitol and punching multiple police officers. Read more: Gas Mask-Wearing Bethesda Man Faces Felony Charges For Jan. 6 Attack

Kathryn Diane McEvoy of Bel Air: She pleaded guilty to two charges: disorderly conduct in a Capitol building; parading, picketing, or demonstrating in a Capitol building.

Matthew Ryan Miller of Cooksville: He was accused of using a section of the crowd control barriers as a ladder to scale the walls of the west side of the Capitol plaza. He pleaded guilty to two charges: Obstruction of an Official Proceeding and Aiding and Abetting; and Assaulting, Resisting, or Impeding Certain Officers Using a Dangerous Weapon. Miller was sentenced to 33 months incarceration, 24 months of supervised release, $2,000 restitution, $200 special assessment; 100 hours community service.

Joshua Pruitt of Silver Spring: He was initially arrested for breaking a citywide curfew in Washington, D.C. on Jan. 6, 2021. Police had asked a group on the Capitol Grounds to disperse, and when Pruitt and others didn’t comply, court documents say, he was arrested. Later, police noticed that he appeared to be a person shown on video entering the Capitol; Pruitt told investigators he had gone into the Capitol in order to de-escalate the situation inside. He pleaded guilty to obstruction of an official proceeding and was sentenced to 55 months incarceration; 3 years supervised release; $2,000 restitution; $100 special assessment.

Stephen Alexander Ondulich of Rockville: He posted on social media: “We took the capital BACK from the communist scum that is the Democrats … Our cause is not destruction like BLM/Antifa … There was no violence … And yes. We did go into the democrats offices … and they are enemies of the people. And deserve to die a traitors death.” Ondulich pleaded guilty to two charges: Disorderly and Disruptive Conduct in a Restricted Building and Grounds; and Parading, Demonstrating, or Picketing in a Capitol Building. He was sentenced to 36 months of probation; 45 days of Home Detention; Restitution of $500; fine of $1,000; special assessment of $20; 60 hours of community service.

See the full list of Maryland residents charged in the Jan. 6 riot here.

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.””

Democrats slammed the move to extend the pardons to violent rioters, many of whose crimes were captured on camera and broadcast on live TV.

Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi called it “an outrageous insult to our justice system and the heroes who suffered physical scars and emotional trauma as they protected the Capitol, the Congress and the Constitution.”

“Donald Trump is ushering in a Golden Age for people that break the law and attempt to overthrow the government," Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer said in an emailed statement.

Former Metropolitan Police Officer Michael Fanone, who lost consciousness and suffered a heart attack after a rioter shocked him with a stun gun, appeared taken aback to learn from an Associated Press reporter that those who assaulted police officers are among the pardon recipients.

“This is what the American people voted for,” he said. “How do you react to something like that?”

Fanone said he has spent the past four years worried about his safety and the well-being of his family. Pardoning his assailants only compounds his fears, he said.

“I think they’re cowards,” he said. “Their strength was in their numbers and the mob mentality. And as individuals, they are who they are.”

The Associated Press contributed reporting.