Trump pardons January 6th defendants; SWFL locals on the list?

Reporter: Valentina LaFranca
Published: Updated:

President Donald Trump, after taking the presidential oath for a second time, issued pardons for individuals charged in the Jan. 6 Capitol attack.

He referred to these individuals as “J6 hostages.” The exact number of pardons remains unclear, but over 1,500 people have been criminally charged for their involvement.

Trump stated, “We’re going to go to the Oval Office. We’re going to decide we’re going to release our great hostages that didn’t do, for the most part, they didn’t do stuff wrong,” indicating his intention to pardon about 1,500 supporters.

Among those charged, over 100 have ties to Florida, including three individuals from Southwest Florida.

Englewood Proud Boys member Daniel Lyons Scott III, also known as Milkshake, sent WINK News a statement after his pardon.

Scott pleaded guilty to assaulting, resisting and impeding officers.

It feels great to have a full pardon from the president of the United States of America. Moving forward, I will be an advocate for prisoners, and I want to work on a national level to fix frustrations that people may have with the government. On Jan. 6, 2021, we saw what frustration can do to people who feel unheard, rejected, and pushed away. My heart goes out to everyone that day. A pardon like this one might be a hard pill to swallow for those who see a just system. I have a bias, but my bias is still my belief. I see a damaged system for what it is. I have grown and changed from these challenges personally. I have had to go through the last 4 years. Others have had it worse, I know that first hand. I pray hearts are softened, I pray as a nation we can move on from the events on that day, I pray the people of this great nation can love one another as people and not just as a political party. Humility is a great thing to learn and share. I get to do what is best for me now as well, that is to build healthy relationships with the ones I love. 

Christopher Worrell from East Naples was found guilty of using pepper spray on Capitol police officers.

David Moerschel from Punta Gorda was involved in stashing guns in a Virginia hotel, though the weapons were not used.

Aubrey Jewett, a political science professor at the University of Central Florida, explained that the pardons might be broad or selective.

“He might do something that’s across the board, where they’re all forgiven, but he might do something a little more selective, where people who were relatively nonviolent are given a pardon, whereas those who attacked police may not be,” Jewett said.

Local opinions on the pardons varied. Ryan from Fort Myers expressed disapproval, stating, “I don’t think he should. You know, they’re violent criminals. They broke into the Capitol building. You know, it was not peaceful or anything.”

Meanwhile, Matt and Kristin Smith from Indianapolis questioned, “If you were one of the January Sixers and you got in trouble for doing nothing, wouldn’t you want to be pardoned?”

Cliff Menting from Ruskin commented, “He’s gonna pardon all of them if it’s warranted or not.”

On Monday night, President Trump directed the attorney general to dismiss about 450 pending criminal cases against Jan. 6 defendants.

Further details on which cases and actions will be pardoned are yet to be disclosed.

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