4 Jan. 6 Defendants From RI Pardoned In Trump’s First Official Act

RHODE ISLAND — 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 four from Rhode Island.

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 Rhode Island include:

• William Cotton, 53, of Hopkinton, plead guilty to one count of parading, demonstrating, or picketing in a capitol building. He struck a plea deal and was sentenced to serve nine months of probation, 60 hours of community service, and pay a restitution fee of $500.
• Juan Rodriguez, 30, of Central Falls, was charged with entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds; disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted building or grounds; disorderly conduct in a capitol building or grounds; enter and remain in a room in a capitol building; obstruct or impede passage in a capitol building. Rodriguez pleaded guilty to enter and remain in a room in a capitol building and obstruct or impede passage in a capitol building. He was sentenced to 30 days in prison.
• Bernard Joseph Sirr, 47, of North Kingstown, pleaded guilty to interference with officers during a civil disorder. He was sentenced to two months in prison.

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.

In Rhode Island, Timothy Desjardins, 36, of Providence, was accused of attacking a police officer and various other charges. He pleaded not guilty to all charges. He was sentenced to 18 years at the Adult Correctional Institutions in Cranston after pleading guilty to unrelated charges.

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.

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