High-profile Jan. 6 cases with North Texas ties: Who got pardoned by Trump?
Amid a flurry of executive actions on his first day back in the Oval Office, President Trump granted clemency to roughly 1,500 defendants convicted of crimes related to the Capitol riot on Jan. 6, 2021.
In the four years since the riot, Mr. Trump and his allies have repeatedly sought to downplay the events of the day, when a mob of his supporters breached the Capitol in an effort to stop Congress from reaffirming Joe Biden's victory over him in the 2020 presidential election.
Presidential pardon vs. presidential clemency
A presidential pardon is a form of clemency that fully forgives a federal crime, erases its legal consequences, and often restores civil rights like voting, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.
Presidential clemency, on the other hand, is a broader term that includes pardons, commutations (sentence reductions), reprieves (delays in punishment), and remission of fines. While a pardon clears the conviction entirely, other forms of clemency may only reduce or modify the penalties without absolving the crime.
The Jan. 6 defendants who received clemency included those convicted of violent and serious crimes, including assaulting police officers and seditious conspiracy. Mr. Trump also ordered the attorney general to dismiss all pending indictments related to the Capitol riot.
More than 40 people charged or convicted in connection with Jan. 6 have ties to North Texas.
While Mr. Trump granted clemency to 1,500 defendants, he specifically commuted the sentences of 14 people named on his proclamation, including North Texas resident and Oath Keepers far-right ground founder Stewart Rhodes and Oath Keepers member and Prosper resident Roberto Minuta.
In his proclamation, Mr. Trump broadly said that he would "Grant a full, complete and unconditional pardon to all other individuals convicted of offenses related to events that occurred at or near the United States Capitol on January 6, 2021."
"This is our country. We are in charge": how North Texans pardoned by Trump are reacting
Within hours of a presidential pardon, federal prisons began releasing January 6th defendants and the celebrations began.
"I am so pumped. FREE AT LAST!" yelled Nathan Hughes, who was sentenced to two years for assaulting police, in a video posted to X.
Philip Anderson, of Mesquite, who was caught on camera atop a statue on the U.S. Capitol grounds rallying rioters with a megaphone, was set to go to trial next month. He received word Tuesday his case is being dismissed.
Overnight he advocated for the swift and safe release of fellow defendants, posting at one point to X in all capital letters: "THIS IS OUR COUNTRY. WE ARE IN CHARGE. AND WHATEVER YOU DO TO J6ERS WE WILL DO TO YOU TEN-FOLD."
Larry Brock, the Air Force veteran who made it to the floor of the U.S. Senate, has been appealing his two-year sentence and received a similar notice that his case would be dismissed. Frustrated by employees at federal prisons working to process the release of prisoners, Brock posted on X, "These people @BureauofPrisons are unbelievably arrogant. They need decimation."
Oath Keepers founder and leader Stewart Rhodes, of Granbury, who was serving an 18-year sentence, praised Trump's actions after his release.
"I think Trump did the right thing, " Rhodes said. "President Trump did the right thing by letting these guys out and pardoning them because they didn't get a fair trial. That's not on him. That's on the DOJ."
Rhodes, though, and fellow Oath Keepers member Rob Minuta, of Prosper, were among the 14 defendants who did not receive pardons, instead having their sentences commuted.
"There's a pardon, which is a cleaning of the slate, and then you have a commutation that doesn't take you off the hook for being convicted, but lets you out of jail," said attorney David Coale, a constitutional law expert who did not represent any of the defendants.
He said those who received commutations will still be convicted felons, which could impact certain rights, including their ability to vote, own a gun, or run for office.
The vast majority of defendants, meanwhile, the roughly 1,500 nationwide who were pardoned, have essentially been forgiven. Emboldened, some have called for reparations and threatened lawsuits against former prosecutors, judges, the Biden administration, and the media.
Coale, though, said for all that a pardon offers them, it isn't a finding of innocence and it doesn't mean a crime wasn't committed.
"It's not a judgment that you didn't do it, or a judgment that there was some mistake in the proceedings or anything else. It's simply a judgment that the president just thinks we don't need to go there for some reason," he said.
High-profile Jan. 6 cases with North Texas ties:
Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes
Granbury resident and Oath Keepers militia founder who was sentenced to 18 years in prison for seditious conspiracy. During his 2023 sentencing hearing, Judge Amit Mehta said Rhodes presented "an ongoing threat and a peril to this country and its democracy."
Oath Keepers attorney Kellye SoRelle
Granbury resident and attorney for the Oath Keepers. She pleaded guilty to obstruction of justice and a misdemeanor in connection with Jan. 6. She was sentenced to 12 months in prison on Jan. 17, three days before Mr. Trump issued the clemency order.
Oath Keepers member Roberto Minuta
Prosper resident and Oath Keepers militia member. Sentenced to 54 months in prison for seditious conspiracy.
Nicholas DeCarlo
Burleson resident. He was seen in photos smoking a cigarette inside the Capitol and claimed to work for MT Media News, which stands for Murder the Media News. Pleaded guilty to obstruction of an official proceeding in 2022, sentenced to 48 months in prison. He was released from prison in November of 2024 following a Supreme Court decision that limited who could be convicted of obstruction of an official proceeding in connection to Jan. 6.
Thomas Ballard
Fort Worth resident. Convicted of assaulting officers on Jan. 6 and sentenced to 54 months in prison. According to prosecutors, Ballard used "numerous makeshift weapons that included a piece of metal scaffolding, several pieces of a wooden plank, and a white metal pole" as weapons against police officers.
Daniel Caldwell
The Colony resident. Pleaded guilty to assaulting police officers and other crimes. Caldwell was caught on video using pepper spray on a line of officers guarding the Capitol's lower west terrace.
Luke Coffee
Dallas resident. Convicted in December of 2024 of two counts of assaulting a police officer with a weapon and other crimes. Coffee was caught on video using a crutch to strike officers.
Larry Brock
Grapevine resident who was seen holding zip ties on the floor of the Senate chamber. Convicted in December of 2022 for obstruction of an official proceeding and five misdemeanors. Released from prison in August 2024 after the Supreme Court decision.
Guy Reffitt
Wylie resident and Three Percenters militia member. Convicted of five felonies, including civil disorder and firearms violations. He was originally sentenced to 87 months in prison, which was later reduced to 80 months. Reffitt was also convicted of obstruction of justice for threatening to shoot his teenage children for turning him in. It is not yet clear if he was pardoned for the obstruction of justice count.
Jenna Ryan
Carrollton resident. Pleaded guilty to one misdemeanor charge. Ryan flew to Washington, D.C. on a private plane and livestreamed the events at the Capitol while promoting her business. She was arrested less than two weeks after the riot. CBS News Texas spoke with her on Jan. 15, 2021, just after the FBI raided her home. In that interview, she asked Mr. Trump for a pardon. She did not get it at the time and ended up spending 60 days in prison.
Jason Hyland and Katherine Schwab
North Texas realtors who flew to Washington, D.C. on the private plane with Jenna Ryan. Both pleaded guilty to one misdemeanor charge. Huland was sentenced to 7 days in jail and Schwab was sentenced to 45 days in jail.
