In a significant action since resuming the presidency, President Donald Trump pardoned all individuals involved in the January 6 riot, a decision he had been considering for some time.
He described their imprisonment as ‘inhumane’, despite their involvement in storming the US Capitol on January 6, 2021, and taking a police officer hostage.
Recently, on January 22, just a day after being pardoned on January 21 by the Republican leader, Daniel Charles Ball, a participant in the events, was apprehended on new charges.
The 39-year-old was arrested in Washington DC on a firearm-related charge issued by a grand jury in Florida.
This charge is separate from his involvement in the January 6 incidents, with the indictment asserting he possessed a firearm and ammunition in May 2023.
Ball, with a history of three felony convictions between 2017 and 2021, was sentenced in 2017 for domestic violence, specifically battery by strangulation, and in 2021 for resisting law enforcement and assaulting a police officer.
The firearm charge arose while he awaited trial for charges related to the Capitol riot. Following Trump’s pardon, the grand jury in Middle District County, Florida, proceeded with this new charge.
A judge, reflecting on Ball’s actions during the riots, stated that ‘his charges are among the most severe of any related to the January 6 events’, noting his violent actions.
Prosecutors alleged he brought an explosive device, which he deployed in a tunnel, causing officers to experience hearing issues for months.
He allegedly picked up a piece of wood from a shutter and entered the Capitol building for approximately two minutes.
Ball pleaded not guilty to all 12 charges against him, which included violence using a deadly weapon, carrying an explosive, and assaulting or impeding law enforcement officers with a deadly weapon.
He is among roughly 1,500 individuals pardoned for their actions during the riot, though not everyone accepted the pardon.
Pamela Hemphill, aged 71, served a 60-day sentence after admitting to her part in the 2021 riots.
Nicknamed the ‘MAGA Granny’ on social media, she has since voiced her opinions on the pardons.
Hemphill clarified her reasoning for declining the pardon, expressing her opposition to the pardoning of all January 6 rioters, including herself.
She stated: “We were wrong that day. We broke the law – there should be no pardons.”
Hemphill also emphasized that accepting a pardon would ‘insult the Capitol police officers, the rule of law, and, of course, our nation’.
She accused Trump of trying to alter the narrative of the events of that day.
Hemphill said: “I pleaded guilty because I was guilty.
“Accepting a pardon would only contribute to their gaslighting and false narrative.”