On his first day back in the White House, Donald Trump didn’t prioritize lowering costs or improving health care access; instead, he signed an executive order issuing sweeping pardons for nearly 1,600 people for their crimes related to the violent January 6th insurrection connected to the deaths of at least seven people.
In a stunning but predictable turn of events, multiple individuals who received pardons have since found themselves in legal trouble again – with at least one fatal outcome.
“Donald Trump’s mass pardon of 1,600 violent insurrectionists was a stupid decision that has made America less safe. These are criminals who’ve been given a free pass to terrorize communities and break the law again,” said American Bridge 21st Century spokesperson Brandon Weathersby.
Take a look at the criminals unleashed by Donald Trump:
Matthew Huttle
- Shot and killed by an Indiana police officer after resisting arrest during a traffic stop.
- According to federal prosecutors, before he participated in a violent insurrection, Huttle was sentenced to 2.5 years in jail for hitting his 3-year-old son “so hard that he left bruises all over the child’s backside and the child’s neck, and the child had such extreme pain on his backside that he could not sit properly for a week.“
Theodore Middendor
- Plead guilty in May 2024 to the sexual assault of a 7-year-old and was sentenced to 19 years in prison.
Andrew Taake
- Arrested for allegedly sending sexually explicit messages to an undercover law enforcement officer who was posing as a 15-year-old girl.
- According to federal prosecutors, Taake committed extremely violent acts on January 6th including using bear spray and a metal whip to assault officers.
Daniel Mint
- Charged with the production of child pornography and possession of child pornography which allegedly “involved a prepubescent minor” and a child under 12 years old – both members of his own family.
Emily Hernandez
- Sentenced to 10 years in prison, less than two weeks after being pardoned, for killing a woman and injuring her husband while driving drunk in 2022.
Benjamin Martin
- Pled to obstruction of a public officer in 2003, a 2016 battery charge where he repeatedly struck his 14-year-old daughter, and a 2018 battery charge where Martin choked his girlfriend and dragged her back into the house after she tried to flee.
- Due to his prior convictions, Martin was prohibited from owning guns. Upon his arrest related to January 6th, FBI agents found eight firearms. Martin has subsequently been sentenced to three years in prison for the violation and was forced to turn himself into authorities after receiving Trump’s pardon.
Enrique Tarrio
Daniel Bell
In addition, several people issued pardons by Trump have histories of violating the law and committing acts so violent that prosecutors, and even family members, have expressed concerns about their release.
These are a few of the known threats to public safety who received a pardon from Donald Trump:
Peter Schwartz
- Had 38 prior convictions going back to 1991 according to federal prosecutors, including a 2004 case for assault with a deadly weapon; a 2019 case for “terroristic threats” for threatening police while under arrest for domestic assault; and a 2020 case of assaulting his wife “including by biting her on the forehead and punching her multiple times.”
Guy Reffitt
- Indicted on a charge of possessing an illegal gun silencer. A federal judge recommended he remain in jail until he is tried in that case.
- Reffitt was the first rioter to be convicted by a jury, having transported guns into DC, rallied rioters toward the Capitol and carried a handgun onto the restricted federal grounds on January 6.
- Reffitt was turned into authorities for his actions on January 6th by his own son who now says it is “terrifying” to see his father has “gotten more and more radicalized and justified and validated” since receiving a pardon.
Kasey Hopkins
- Prosecutors described a lengthy and troubling criminal history that included a 2002 conviction for forcible rape.
Edward Richmond Jr.
- Convicted of manslaughter after shooting a handcuffed Iraqi cow herder in the head while serving in the U.S. Army.
- Court documents indicate Richmond was also convicted for resisting officers and driving under the influence, as well as an arrest for domestic abuse.
Jonathan Gennaro Mellis
Edward Hemenway
- Pled guilty to sexual battery and criminal confinement. Hemenway was initially sentenced to three years in prison and was re-sentenced to five years in prison after violating his probation.
Published: Feb 24, 2025