Convicted US Capitol rioter turns down Trump’s pardon
One of the men serving prison time for taking part in the US Capitol riot four years ago has refused to grant a pardon from President Donald Trump, saying: “We were wrong that day.”
Pamela Hemphill, who pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 60 days in prison, told the BBC that there should be no apology for the riot on 6 January 2021.
“Accepting a pardon would only be an insult to Capitol Police officers, the rule of law, and certainly our country,” he said.
“I pleaded guilty because I was guilty, and accepting a pardon would also serve to contribute to their gaslighting and false narrative.”
Hemphill, who was nicknamed “MAGA Granny” by social media users – in reference to Trump’s “Make America Great Again” slogan – said that he viewed the Trump government as trying to “rewrite history”. I look at it and I don’t want to be a part of it.”
“We were wrong that day, we broke the law – there should be no apologies,” he told the BBC World Service’s Newsday programme.
Trump’s decision to pardon or commute the sentences of nearly 1,600 people involved in an effort to violently overturn the 2020 election came just hours after he took office.
At a press conference at the White House on Tuesday, he said: “These people have already been in prison for years, and they’ve served them viciously.
“It’s a disgusting prison. It’s horrible. It’s inhumane. It’s a horrible, horrible thing.”
However, the move has drawn uneasy reaction from some Republican politicians.
Senator Thom Tillis of North Carolina said he “cannot agree” with the move, saying it “raises legitimate security issues on Capitol Hill”.
Another Republican US senator, James Lankford of Oklahoma, told CNN: “I think we need to keep saying we are the party of law and order.”
He further said, “I think if you attack a police officer, it is a very serious issue and they should pay the price for it.”
Those pardoned included one of the riot’s most recognizable figures, self-proclaimed QAnon suppressor Jacob Chansley, who was released from prison in 2023 after serving 27 months of a 41-month prison sentence Was.
He told the BBC that he heard the news from his lawyer while he was at the gym.
He added: “I went outside and I yelled ‘freedom’ at the top of my lungs and then did a good Native American war cry.”
