The Violent January 6th Rioters Pardoned by President Donald Trump
Donald Trump pardoned 1,500 people and commuted the sentences for 14 others involved in the January 6 Capitol attack. 169 of the people who received full and unconditional pardons from President Trump pleaded guilty to assaulting police officers on January 6.
Here are some of the defendants and what they did:
David Dempsey, convicted of repeatedly assaulting police officers using pepper spray, a metal crutch, and wooden and metal poles, received a 20-year prison sentence.
This image shows David Dempsey throwing a pole at a police officer in the Lower West Terrace Tunnel at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. Photo credit: U.S. Department of Justice
The U.S. Department of Justice report describes Dempsey’s actions on January 6, 2021:
At about 4:01 p.m., Dempsey took a long pole from the crowd and swung it at officers in the Tunnel, striking their shields. He then used his foot to push away a crowd member attempting to take the pole away from him. Court documents say that a short while later, at about 4:07 p.m., Dempsey sprayed two separate bursts of pepper spray into the line of officers.
For the next several minutes, Dempsey continued his assault on officers in the Tunnel including by throwing water bottles at police, spraying pepper spray at officers, swinging a metal crutch, which struck police; swinging an aluminum people, which also struck police; throwing a folded-up metal pole; and swinging and throwing a long wooden pole, which struck police.
At about 4:42 p.m., Dempsey retreated from the crowd to rinse pepper spray from his eyes and face. He then returned to the front line and swung a flagpole at the line of officers, striking an officer's riot shield. Finally, at 5:03 p.m., Dempsey threw two objects at officers in the Tunnel.
Video footage of David Dempsey on January 6, 2021. Video credit: United States District Court
David Dempsey pepper-spraying Detective Phuson Nguyen on Jan. 6, 2021. Photo credit: United States District Court
David Dempsey swings a pole at officers. Photo credit: U.S. Department of Justice
David Dempsey stomping on police officers in the Lower West Terrace Tunnel at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. Photo credit: U.S. Department of Justice
The U.S. Department of Justice report describes Rodriguez’s actions on January 6, 2021:
After Rodriguez returned to the lower west terrace tunnel, court documents state that video footage taken from the scene of the incident depicts one rioter, Albuquerque Head, wrapping his arm around the neck of an MPD officer and dragging the officer out on to the steps of the lower west terrace. Rodriguez is then seen making his way toward the officer and, with the electroshock weapon in hand, plunging it into the officer’s neck. As the officer attempted to escape, court records state that Rodriguez struck again, placing the electroshock weapon on the back of the officer’s neck.
Following the assault on the officer, Rodriguez then entered the Capitol building and continued to vandalize offices, ransack rooms, break windows, and steal other items. Before, during, and after the Capitol breach, Rodriguez sent multiple images and text messages to members of the Telegram group, documenting his assault on the Capitol and the MPD officers, as well as his desire to commit violence and destruction.
Video footage of Daniel Rodriguez on January 6, 2021. Video credit: NYT
Video footage of Daniel Rodriguez on January 6, 2021. Video credit: NYT
Rodriguez plunging the electroshock weapon into an MPD officer’s neck. Photo credit: U.S. District Court
The U.S. Department of Justice report describes Dykes’ actions on January 6, 2021:
By approximately 2:35 p.m., Dykes pushed his way to the front of the mob in front of the doors, where he forcibly, voluntarily, and intentionally grabbed hold of one U.S. Capitol Police Officer’s riot shield. Dykes then continued forcibly, voluntarily, and intentionally using his body and hands to pull the shield away from the officer, who was attempting to maintain control of the shield. Eventually, Dykes overcame the officer and succeeded in breaking the officer’s shield free from the officer’s hands, leaving the officer off balance and vulnerable. Other members of the mob then deployed pepper spray in the direction of the officer from whom Dykes had stolen the shield, and the small number of officers surrounding that officer, who continued attempting to protect the East Rotunda doors. The mob then re-engaged with the line of officers, violently pushing them, throwing things at them, and continuing to pepper spray them, among other things. Dykes, among them, began using the shield to forcibly push other rioters ahead of him, who pushed against the line of officers. He also used the riot shield to obstruct and intimidate the police officers defending the Capitol. Once inside the U.S. Capitol Building, Dykes entered the Capitol’s Rotunda, where he continued carrying the stolen police riot shield.
Photo credit: U.S. District Court for D.C.
A video still shows Tyler Dykes, positioned in the upper center wearing a black glove, appearing to perform a Sieg Heil salute upon reaching the landing in front of the East Rotunda doors in Washington, D.C., on January 6, 2021. Photo credit: U.S. District Court for D.C.
Photo credit: U.S. District Court for D.C.
Peter Schwartz (circled in red) using a canister of pepper spray against officers during the January 6, 2021, riot in Washington, D.C. This image was taken from the body-worn camera of a Washington MPD officer. Photo credit: Justice Department/AP
The U.S. Department of Justice report describes Schwartz’s actions on January 6, 2021:
Peter J. Schwartz, 49, of Uniontown, Pennsylvania, was sentenced in U.S. District Court to 170 months in prison for nine felonies and two misdemeanors. Schwartz was convicted at trial, on December 6, 2022, of four counts of felony assaulting, resisting, or impeding law enforcement officers using a dangerous weapon, one count each of interfering with a law enforcement officer during a civil disorder and obstruction of an official proceeding, as well as misdemeanors of disorderly conduct and commission of an act of violence on Capitol grounds. In addition to the prison term, U.S. District Court Judge Amit P. Mehta ordered 36 months of supervised release and a fine/restitution of $2,000.
According to the government’s evidence, on Jan. 6, 2021, Schwartz and his wife Shelly Stallings, who pleaded guilty in August, traveled to Washington D.C. and were at the area of the Lower West Terrace of the Capitol Building. While at the front of the police line around 2:28 pm, Schwartz threw a folding chair at officers, later claiming to a friend that he “started a riot” by “throwing the first chair.” He then stole MPD duffle bags full of O.C. spray canisters, which he distributed to other members of the mob, including his wife, so that they could deploy them against the police. Wielding a large MK-46 canister and carrying a wooden tire thumper, Schwartz began indiscriminately spraying O.C. spray at any retreating police officers he could find. Around the same time, co-defendant Markus Maly pushed through the crowd toward a group of police officers trying to escape up onto the inaugural stage and sprayed with his own O.C. canister. Schwartz and Maly then followed officers up into the lower west terrace tunnel, where they were joined by defendant Brown and dozens of other rioters. As the crowd heaved against the makeshift police line, co-defendant Jeffrey Scott Brown received an O.C. spray canister that was passed from Schwartz to Maly to Brown. Brown tried to use it but couldn’t figure out the nozzle. He passed it back to Schwartz, who appears to have shown Brown how to use it and passed it back. Brown then dove towards the front of the police line, spraying them with yet more OC spray.
Video footage of Peter Schwartz on January 6, 2021. Video credit: NYT
Peter Schwartz spraying mace at police officers during the Capitol riot on Jan. 6, 2021. Photo credit: Affidavit filed by the FBI
The U.S. Department of Justice report describes Nichols’ actions on January 6, 2021:
At approximately 3:56 p.m., Nichols waved the crowd toward the Tunnel as both he and Harkrider pushed the crowd against the officers in synchronized movements, rocking back and forth as the crowd chanted, “Heave! Ho!” At approximately 4:01 p.m., Nichols again called for the crowd to push forward, extended his palm, and beckoned with his fingers for a large red canister of O.C. or pepper spray that was being passed through the crowd. Nichols took hold of the canister and delivered two streams of spray into the Tunnel, hitting multiple law enforcement officers.
At about 4:13 p.m., Nichols observed another rioter trying to break a window to the Capitol with a stolen canister of police pepper spray. Nichols and Harkrider then entered the Capitol through a broken window, emerged from a room inside the building, and stood on a window ledge. Nichols then, holding his crowbar in one hand and a bullhorn in the other, shouted to other rioters, “Get in the building, this is your country, get in the building, we will not be told ‘No’,” “This is the second revolution,” “This is not a peaceful protest,” and “If you have a weapon, you need to get your weapon!” Nichols and Harkrider then exited the Capitol building at about 4:35 p.m.
Later that day, back at his hotel room, Nichols posted a video to Facebook, in which he stated, in part, “So, yes, I’m calling for violence! And I will be violent! Because I’ve been peaceful and my voice hasn’t been heard, I’ve been peaceful and my vote doesn’t count. I’ve been peaceful and the Court’s won’t hear me. So you’re f— right, I’m going to be violent now! And I’m here in Washington, D.C. and it just got started. So if you want to know where Ryan Nichols stands, Ryan Nichols stands for violence.”
Video footage of Ryan Nichols breaking a window of the U.S. Capitol building with a crowbar on January 6, 2021. Video credit: CBS19
Ryan T. Nichols is shown using a large canister of chemical spray, stolen from D.C. police officers, to spray at law enforcement during the January 6, 2021, riot. Photo credit: US District Court of District of Columbia
The U.S. Department of Justice report describes Khater’s actions on January 6, 2021:
Khater then walked through the crowd to within a few steps of a bike rack barrier being used by a line of law enforcement officers attempting to secure the Capitol and its grounds. Khater stood directly across from officers. At 2:23 p.m., people in the mob began pulling on the bike rack barrier using ropes and their hands to pull the rack away. Seconds later, from less than eight feet away, Khater sprayed pepper spray from a cannister in his right hand at the officers. He first sprayed a U.S. Capitol Police Officer, identified in court documents as “Officer B.S.,” in the face. That officer then turned his head away and retreated from the police line.
Khater continued to deploy the spray, advancing towards another Capitol Police officer, identified in court documents as “Officer C.E.,” and spraying her directly in the eyes from only a few feet away. She dropped her head and retreated, requiring the assistance of another officer because she was unable to see. Khater then sprayed a Metropolitan Police Department officer, identified in court documents as “Officer D.C.,” directly in the face. That officer also immediately retreated from the line. All three officers suffered bodily injury from the pepper spray attack and were incapacitated and unable to perform their duties.
Video footage of Julian Khater spraying pepper spray at police officers, including Brian Sicknick, on January 6, 2021. Video credit: Department of Justice/WUSA9
Thomas Webster trying to remove an officer's helmet and gas mask, choking him, after tackling the officer to the ground. Photo credit: Department of Justice
The U.S. Department of Justice report describes Webster’s actions on January 6, 2021:
According to the government’s evidence, on Jan. 6, Webster first attended a rally and then moved to the Capitol, where he illegally entered the Capitol grounds. He wore a bulletproof vest and carried a large metal flagpole bearing the red and yellow flag of the U.S. Marine Corps. At approximately 2:28 p.m., Webster was among the mob on the other side of metal barricades set up by law enforcement officers attempting to secure the Lower West Plaza area of the Capitol. Webster approached an officer from the Metropolitan Police Department who was behind the metal gates. Webster pointed his finger at the officer and began swearing at him, telling him, among other things to “take your sh--- off,” an apparent invitation to the officer to take off his badge and fight.
Webster then aggressively shoved the metal gate into the officer’s body. He raised the flagpole and forcefully swung it toward the officer. The officer managed to wrest the flagpole away. Webster, however, then broke through the metal barricade, tackled the officer to the ground, and tried to remove his helmet and gas mask, choking him. During this attack, the officer struggled to breathe. While Webster had the officer restrained on the ground and unable to breathe, others in the mob began kicking the officer. The officer sustained several injuries as a result of Webster’s attack.
Video footage of Thomas Webster on January 6, 2021. Video credit: NYT
A still frame from Metropolitan Police Department body worn camera video shows Thomas Webster, in red jacket, forcefully swinging a large metal flagpole bearing the flag of the U.S. Marine Corps at a barricade line on the west front of the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021. Photo credit: Metropolitan Police Department via AP
The U.S. Department of Justice report describes Quaglin’s actions on January 6, 2021:
At about 1:08 p.m., Quaglin pushed into one officer and forcibly pushed into a second officer several times. Quaglin swatted and aggressively yelled at the officer until another individual from the crowd pulled him back. Quaglin then maneuvered through the mob of rioters facing the police line, emerged from the crowd, and again charged towards the police line, making contact with numerous officers. Quaglin approached a USCP Sergeant and aggressively pointed his finger inches away from the sergeant's face. Suddenly, Quaglin reached forward with both hands, grabbed the officer by the neck, and forcibly tackled the officer to the ground. His attack initiated a brawl between rioters and police officers. Quaglin then approached the Deputy Police Chief of the USCP and forcibly pushed him several times. Later, as one officer bent down to pick an object from the ground, Quaglin hit the officer in the head with a gas mask.
After officers successfully returned Quaglin behind the barricades, Quaglin immediately reinitiated his attack. Quaglin pulled on a bike rack barrier and reached across the bike racks, making contact with several additional officers. Quaglin then worked with other rioters to forcibly rip one of the barrier fences out of the hands of Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) officers. Around 2:34 p.m., body-worn camera footage captured Quaglin lunging at an officer and pushing him down, turning and grabbing another officer by the helmet, and then pushing into a third officer.
Eventually, rioters overran the police line in this area, and officers retreated. Quaglin followed the officers and continued to assault and berate them as the officers tried to escape from the encroaching mob. The officers retreated to the Lower West Terrace Tunnel, the site of some of the most violent attacks against law enforcement on January 6th. Quaglin followed.
Quaglin entered the Tunnel by 3:03 p.m. and quickly made his way to the front of the mob of rioters. Inside the Tunnel, Quaglin forcibly ripped a police riot shield from the hands of an officer, causing the officer to fall onto the ground. Quaglin later stole another police shield and used it to attack police officers in the Tunnel, as he yelled epithets at officers, including calling them "TRAITORS!"
Court documents say that, at 3:06 p.m., Quaglin raised a can of chemical irritant in the air, reaching around the officers' shields, and sprayed the officers directly in their faces. Quaglin is later seen at the front of the mob in the Tunnel forcibly pushing into police officers. He collaborated with the mob behind him as they yelled "HEAVE! HO!" and collectively bashed into the police line. Quaglin remained at the front of the line of rioters assaulting and impeding police officers until approximately 3:18 p.m. when he was pushed out of the Tunnel with other rioters.
Photo credit: Department of Justice
Photo credit: Department of Justice
