One of the January 6 rioters pardoned by Donald Trump celebrated the president's move by immediately cutting off his ankle monitor.
Gabriel Garcia, 44, a native of Miami, was among about 1,500 rioters who were pardoned by the Republican on Monday during the first hours of his second term.
“I've had four years of this, four years, and I'm just happy to get out of the way and get back to living a normal life,” the former Army captain said, as reported by NBC Miami.
“I just walked into the Capitol to peacefully protest,” Garcia said. “I have not been charged with violence, I have not hurt anyone, I have not destroyed any property. Therefore, what he has done today by granting us a full pardon is indeed very right.”
Garcia, a former Proud Boy, was sentenced to a year in prison after filming himself in the Capitol while challenging then-Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi to “come out and play.”
Also pardoned was Ethan Nordean, who was sentenced to 18 years in prison after being convicted of seditious conspiracy for his role in the Capitol riot.
Nordean is a known member of the Proud Boys in Washington state, where he was filmed in 2018 knocking out an Antifa protester armed with a baton.
Peter Schwartz, a Kentucky resident sentenced to 14 years in prison for assaulting, resisting or obstructing law enforcement officers, celebrated his pardon by going to In N Out Burger.
Former Proud Boy Gabriel Garcia, 44, cut off his ankle monitor as soon as President Donald Trump announced the pardon for the January 6 riots on Monday
Ethan Nordean was also pardoned for his role in the Capitol riot. Nordean is a member of the Proud Boys in Washington, where he was filmed knocking out an Antifa protester in 2018
Schwartz has a lengthy criminal record and was on probation when he attacked Capitol police officers with pepper spray and a chair as he stormed the Capitol with his wife.
He was armed with a wooden tire beater when he and his then-wife, Shelly Stallings, joined other rioters and overwhelmed a line of police officers on the Capitol's Lower West Terrace, where he threw a folding chair at officers.
Conservative influencer Isabella Maria DeLuca was also among the rioters pardoned.
DeLuca was caught on camera “removing a table and helping other rioters remove it” from a Capitol office known as ST-2M before “handing it through another broken window to rioters outside.”
According to the records, the table “was then used to attack law enforcement officers guarding the Lower West Terrace Tunnel.”
“Last March, I was arrested by seven armed FBI agents, my apartment was raided and my phone was confiscated. Tonight I am honored to have received a pardon from President Trump,” she said on X.
“I would like to express my deepest gratitude to all of you for the overwhelming love, prayers and unwavering support you have shown me throughout this ordeal. Your kind messages, encouragement and belief in me have made all the difference and given me the strength to face the emotional and mental challenges of this nightmare. I will never forget the outpouring of compassion and solidarity from so many of you. Thank you for standing by me during one of the darkest times of my life.”
Conservative influencer Isabella Maria DeLuca was also among the rioters pardoned
Peter Schwartz, a Kentucky resident sentenced to 14 years in prison for assaulting, resisting or obstructing law enforcement officers, celebrated his pardon by heading to Eat N Out
Garcia, a former Proud Boy, was sentenced to a year in prison after filming himself in the Capitol while challenging then-Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi to “come out and play.”
Trump has pardoned, commuted or pledged to dismiss the cases of all more than 1,500 people charged with crimes during the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot, including people convicted of assaulting police officers, killing his used clemency power on his first attempt. day back in office to undo the massive prosecution of the unprecedented attack on the seat of American democracy.
Trump's action, just hours after returning to the White House on Monday, paves the way for the release from prison of people found guilty of violent attacks on police, as well as leaders of far-right extremist groups who are convicted of failed plots to retain power. Republican in power after losing the 2020 presidential election to Democrat Joe Biden.
The Capitol riot left more than a hundred police officers injured as the angry mob of Trump supporters — some armed with poles, batons and bear spray — overwhelmed law enforcement, shattered windows and sent lawmakers and aides into hiding.
Although a pardon was expected, the speed and scope of the clemency amounted to a stunning dismantling of the Justice Department's efforts to hold participants accountable for what has been described as one of the darkest days in the nation's history.
Trump labeled the rioters “patriots” and “hostages” and claimed they were being treated unfairly by the Justice Department, which also charged him with federal crimes in two cases that he said were politically motivated.
Trump labeled the rioters “patriots” and “hostages” and claimed the January 6 rioters were treated unfairly by the Justice Department.
Ethan Nordean, the self-described “sergeant-at-arms” for the group's Seattle chapter, was charged with obstructing Congress, aiding and abetting the entry of restricted grounds as part of the mob that breached the Capitol.
Trump said the pardon will end “a grave national injustice inflicted on the American people over the past four years” and begin “a process of national reconciliation.”
The pardon was greeted with elation by Trump supporters and lawyers for the January 6 defendants. Trump supporters gathered late Monday in the cold outside the Washington prison where more than a dozen pre-pardon defendants were being held.
It is unclear how quickly the suspects can be released from prison. A lawyer for Enrique Tarrio, the former Proud Boys national chairman who was sentenced to 22 years in prison for seditious conspiracy, said he expected his client to be released from prison Monday evening.
Democrats rejected the initiative to pardon violent rioters, many of whose crimes were caught on camera and broadcast live on television. Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi called it “an outrageous insult to our justice system and the heroes who suffered physical scars and emotional trauma protecting the Capitol, Congress and the Constitution.”
