Published 10:57 IST, January 27th 2025
Why US Capitol Attackers Are Rejecting Donald Trump's Pardon?
Riddle and Hemphill believe that their actions were not pardonable and accepting it would contribute to the "propaganda" that attack was a "peaceful protest."

Washington DC: At least two people, who were convicted of the January 6, 2021, US Capitol Hill riots, have "rejected" President Donald Trump's pardons. Jason Riddle and Pamela Hemphill believe that their actions were not pardonable and accepting it would contribute to the "propaganda" that the attack was a "peaceful protest."
Speaking to The Guardian previously, Hemphill said that she is taking responsibility for her role in the incident preventing the certification of former President Joe Biden's win over Trump. The 71-year-old received a 60-day misdemeanour jail sentence and 3 years of probation after pleading guilty to demonstrating and parading at the Capitol in 2022.
"Accepting Trump's pardon would contribute to propaganda that [the attack] was a peaceful protest," she said.
Earlier this week, US Navy veteran Riddle, who received a 90-day prison term, fined $750 in April 2022 for pleading guilty to the attack, also echoed Hemphill's sentiments.
As per court's documents, Riddle on Jan 6 2021, entered the Capitol Hill office, drank a bottle of wine, stole a book and inflicted damage at the parliamentarian office.
Commenting on the incident, Riddle said, "It's almost like [Trump] was trying to say it didn't happen. And it happened. I did those things, and they weren't pardonable. I don't want the pardon. And I ... reject the pardon."
Furthermore, speaking to the New Hampshire Public Radio (NHPR), he said, "I'm thinking down the road [if] an employer looks in my background, they see misdemeanours... with a presidential pardon - I think that tends to draw more attention."
Referring to Trump's "Make America Great Again" slogan, the Navy veteran added, "And I'm sure that's fine in the Maga world with whoever supports Trump, but I don't want to spend the rest of my life wondering if [those at] the job I'm applying to ... like Trump."
Moreover, recalling the time when he stopped supporting Trump, Riddle said, "I remember thinking, 'What are you doing, Trump? Remember what happened at the [Capitol] riot? Someone might get hurt. Why would you ask people to protest."
Sends Wrong Singal: Trump's Key Ally on Capitol Hill Attackers Pardoning
A key ally of President Donald Trump said the White House pardoning rioters who fought with police while storming the US Capitol in 2021 is “sending the wrong signal” and expressed concern about the future ramifications of issuing sweeping clemencies.
“I have always said that, I think, when you pardon people who attack police officers, you’re sending the wrong signal to the public at large,” Sen. Lindsey Graham, a South Carolina Republican who is close to Trump, told CNN on Sunday. “It’s not what you want to do to protect cops.”
Within hours of taking office last week, Trump issued a sweeping clemency order covering around 1,500 rioters for their role on the Capitol attack that attempted to block congressional certification of Joe Biden's 2020 election victory on Jan. 6, 2021.
Notably, over 1,350 people were charged in nearly all 50 US States for crimes related to the breach of the US Capitol, according to the US Department of Justice, after rioters stormed the building to protest former President Trump's election loss and the validity of Biden's win.
Of those, at least 560 defendants received sentences while at least 335 were sentenced to periods of incarceration, the DOJ had said.
(Inputs from agencies)
Updated 10:57 IST, January 27th 2025