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

MICHIGAN — 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 Michigan.

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 who have been convicted from Michigan include:

• Ryan Kelley of Allendale: Pleaded guilty to entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds; Sentenced on Oct. 17, 2023 to 60 days incarceration; one year of supervised release; $25 special assessment; a $5,000 fine; $500 in restitution. Read more: Capitol Riot Charges For Michigan Republican Governor Candidate
• Logan Barnhart of Lansing: Pleaded guilty to assaulting, resisting, or impeding certain officers using a dangerous weapon. He was dentenced on April 13, 2023 to 36 Months of Imprisonment; Supervised release of 36 months; Restitution of $2,000; Fine $3,688; Special Assessment: $100. Read more: Michigan Man Arrested For Role In Jan. 6 Capitol Riot: Reports
• Karl Dresch of Calumet: Pleaded guilty to parading, demonstrating or picketing in a capitol building. Sentenced Aug. 4, 2021 to Time Served (6 months) with no term of supervised release imposed. Special Assessment of $10.00 and Restitution in the amount of $500.00 was imposed. Read more: Michigan Man Faces Federal Charges In Capitol Hill Riots
• Edward Amyot of St. Clair Shores: Pleaded guilty to disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted building or grounds. Sentenced on Aug. 29, 2024 to 24 months of probation with the first 60 days to be served on home detention; Special Assessment of $25; Restitution of $500; $5,000 fine; 60 hours of community service.
• Michael Joseph Foy of Wixom: Pleaded not guilty to assaulting, resisting or impeding certain officers; obstruction of an official proceeding. Later found guilty on both charges in a Stipulated Bench Trial on June 23, 2023. Sentenced on Feb. 28, 2024 to 40 Months Incarceration; 24 Months supervised release; Special Assessment Of $200; Restitution of $2,000.
• Jason James Howland of Clinton Township: Pleaded guilty to Civil Disorder. Sentenced on Jan. 10 to 36 Months of Probation; home detention for 3 Months; Special Assessment of $100; Restitution of $2,000; Fine of $8,000.
• James Allen Mels of Shelby Township: Pleaded guilty to entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds. Sentenced on Oct. 28, 2022 to three months probation; three months home confinement; $500 restitution; $25 special assessment.
• Spencer Offman of Novi: Pleaded guilty to entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds. Sentenced on July 12, 2024 to 30 days incarceration; six months of Supervised Release; $25 Special Assessment; $500 Restitution; 60 hours of community service.
• Ruben Reyna of Detroit: Pleaded guilty to entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds. Sentenced on June 14, 2024 to 14 days incarceration; 12 months of Supervised Release; Special Assessment of $25; restitution of $500.
• Steven Daniel Thurlow of St. Clair Shores: Pleaded guilty to parading, demonstrating, or picketing in a capitol building. Sentenced Aug. 30, 2023 to 24 months of probation, 80 hours of community service, $500 in restitution; $10 special assessment.

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.