Northern VA Man Pardoned For Jan. 6 Crimes Facing New Charges For Burglary

HENRICO COUNTY, VA — A Virginia man who received a pardon for his role in the 2021 U.S. Capitol riot, which included smashing the door that rioter Ashli Babbitt tried to breach before police shot her, is facing new charges after authorities said he broke into a home near Richmond.

Zachary Jordan Alam, 33, of Centreville, was arrested on May 9 and charged with residential breaking and entering and vandalism, the Henrico County Police Division said in a news release.

Earlier that night, officers spoke with the homeowners, who said Alam entered their residence through a back door around 8:30 p.m., according to police. The man took several items before the homeowners found him and asked him to leave, police said.

Officers located Alam in a nearby neighborhood and arrested him, according to authorities.

A preliminary hearing for the burglary case is scheduled for late June in Henrico County court.

Alam isn’t the first Jan. 6 Capitol rioter to be accused of breaking the law after being pardoned by President Donald Trump. An Indiana man, Matthew Huttle, was fatally shot by a sheriff’s deputy during a traffic stop six days after receiving his pardon, according to The Associated Press.

On his first day back in office in January, President Trump pardoned, commuted the prison sentences or vowed to dismiss the cases of all of the 1,500-plus people charged with crimes in the Jan. 6, 2021, U.S. Capitol riot, including people convicted of assaulting police officers.

Those pardoned included Alam, who was sentenced to eight years in prison in November. The federal judge who handed down the punishment described Alam as one of the most violent and aggressive rioters.

Alam attended then-President Trump’s “Stop the Steal” rally near the White House before joining the mob that attacked the Capitol. He helped other rioters scale barriers outside the Capitol before entering the building through a broken window.

On his journey through the Capitol, Alam screamed obscenities at police, tried to kick in a hallway door and threw a red velvet rope at officers from a balcony. He joined other rioters in trying to breach doors leading to the House chamber, but the entrances were barricaded with furniture and guarded by police.

Pushing past officers, Alam punched and shattered three window panes on the doors of the Speaker’s Lobby. Another rioter handed him a helmet, which he used to smash the door and glass panes.

Other rioters yelled that police officers behind the door had drawn their guns, but Alam continued to smash the last glass pane. Babbitt, who was unarmed, tried to climb through the broken window and was fatally shot.

Alam had asked for a pardon at his sentencing hearing, telling the judge he believed in his heart that he was doing the right thing.

“Sometimes you have to break the rules to do what’s right,” he said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.