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

NEW JERSEY — 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 New Jersey.

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.

But the pardons were not sufficient enough, said Rob Coppotelli, a Toms River resident who had pleaded guilty in September to being disorderly and disruptive in a Capitol building and parading, demonstrating or picketing in a Capitol building.

"Every single Jan. 6er deserves full expungements across the board," Coppotelli said at a news conference he called on Jan. 10 on the steps of the federal courthouse in Newark.

Coppotelli insists protesters were invited into the Capitol building "with open arms" that day, only to be arrested later, calling it entrapment and a violation of civil liberties.

He was sentenced in December to probation and a $600 fine, as NJ.com reported.

Other people who have been convicted from New Jersey include:

1. Rasha N. Abual-Ragheb of Fairfield: pleaded guilty to parading, demonstrating or picketing in a Capitol building; sentenced Nov. 23, 2021, to 36 months probation with two months home confinement, 60 hours of community service, and $500 restitution. Read more: NJ Mom Charged In Jan. 6 Capitol Riot Spared Prison
2. Thomas Baranyi of Ewing: pleaded guilty to entering and remaining in a restricted building; sentenced June 17, 2022 to 90 days in jail, one year of supervised release, 60 hours of community service and $500 restitution. Read more: NJ Jan. 6 Rioter Interviewed With Bloody Hand Sentenced: Report
3. Lawrence Dropkin Jr. of Raritan: pleaded guilty to entering or remaining on a restricted building or grounds, disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted building or grounds, disorderly conduct in a Capitol building, and parading, demonstrating or picketing in a Capitol building; sentenced Oct. 7, 2022 to 30 days of incarceration, one year of supervised release, 60 hours of community service and $500 restitution.
4. Scott Kevin Fairlamb: arrested in Stockholm; pleaded guilty to obstruction of an official proceeding and assaulting, resisting or impeding certain officers; sentenced Nov. 10, 2021, to 41 months incarceration. Read more: NJ Capitol Rioter Sentenced To 41 Months In Prison
5. Timothy Louis Hale-Cusanelli: arrested in Colts Neck; found guilty of all charges: civil disorder; aiding and abetting, obstruction of an official proceeding, entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds; impeding ingress and egress in a restricted building; disorderly conduct in a Capitol building; parading, demonstrating, or picketing in a Capitol building; sentenced Sept. 22, 2022 to 48 months in prison, three years of supervised release, $2,000 restitution. Read more: Capitol Rioter From Colts Neck Sentenced
6. Robert Lee Petrosh: arrested in Mays Landing; pleaded guilty to theft of government property; sentenced March 25, 2022 to 10 days in jail, to be followed by 12 months of supervised release, $1,000 fine and $938 restitution. Read more: 2 South Jersey Men Plead Guilty To Capitol Riot Crimes: Report
7. Lawrence Earl Stackhouse of Blackwood: pleaded guilty to parading, demonstrating, or picketing in a Capitol building; sentenced June 17, 2022 to 14 days in jail (intermittent, two 7-day periods), 90 days home confinement, 36 months of probation and $500 restitution. Read more.
8. Marissa A. Suarez of Union Beach: pleaded guilty to parading, demonstrating, or picketing in a Capitol building; sentenced July 12, 2022 to 36 months probation, $2,000 fine, $500 restitution and 60 hours community service. Read more: Ex-Monmouth Corrections Officer Indicted On Capitol Riot Charges
9. Patricia Todisco of Howell: pleaded guilty to parading, demonstrating, or picketing in a Capitol building; sentenced July 12, 2022 to 36 months probation, $2,000 fine, $500 restitution and 60 hours community service. Read more.
10. Christopher Joseph Quaglin of North Brunswick: convicted of assaulting, resisting or impeding certain officers or employees; assaulting, resisting or impeding certain officers using a dangerous weapon, and others; sentenced May 24, 2024 to 12 years in prison, $2,000 restitution and 24 months probation. Read more.
11. Michael Oliveras of Lindenwold: convicted of assaulting law enforcement, obstruction of an official proceeding, and others; sentenced Oct. 3, 2024 to five years in prison, $2,000 restitution and 36 months probation. Read more.

Patrick Stedman of Haddonfield had his most serious conviction dropped on appeal, and was released ahead of the presidential pardons.

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.

This would include a South Jersey man arrested in October after authorities say he dragged an officer toward the mob at the Capitol. Predrag "Peter" Jovanovic, 64, of Pilesgrove, was charged with obstruction of law during a civil disorder and assaulting, resisting or impeding certain officers — both felonies.

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.

In a statement, Gov. Phil Murphy said that the pardons represented "a dark moment for our country."

Murphy mentioned U.S. Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick, a New Jersey native who died several hours after clashing with protesters at the Capitol, in his statement opposing the pardons. Julian Khater of Somerset, who had pleaded guilty to using pepper spray on Sicknick and other officers, was one of the other defendants that Trump pardoned by name.

"President Trump’s decision to pardon the individual who assaulted (Sicknick) that day — and 1,500 other Jan 6th defendants — is a deep betrayal of justice," Murphy said.

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.