97 January 6 Rioters Pardoned by Trump Have Been Nabbed for Additional Crimes: Report

(AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, File)

Nearly 100 of the more than 1,500 January 6 rioters granted clemency by President Donald Trump have allegedly gone on to commit separate crimes that include reckless homicide and child molestation, according to a new report by The Lawfare Institute.

The report found that 97 rioters pardoned by Trump were “arrested for and charged with — and in the vast majority of cases convicted of — other crimes,” a count “much higher than the public knew.”

“The alleged crimes by Jan. 6 defendants since Jan. 6, 2021, run the gamut from relatively low-grade offenses like property damage, possession of drug paraphernalia, and trespassing to serious felonies like grand larceny, stalking, planning to assassinate law enforcement officials and prominent politicians, and defrauding government agencies,” the report said. “One Jan. 6 pardonee was convicted in February 2026 of child molestation and sentenced to life in prison. Another was convicted in 2025 of reckless homicide.”

At least 14 other pardoned insurrectionists were charged with sex crimes or crimes related to child sexual abuse material, and at least six have faced domestic violence charges.

“Others have faced charges for physical assaults, illegal firearms possession, or other violent crimes,” the report continued. “At least 20 have been charged with driving under the influence (DUI) of alcohol or drugs or public intoxication.”

The report noted that “Perhaps most strikingly, five recipients of presidential clemency were arrested in connection with conduct that occurred at least in part subsequent to Trump’s freeing them from prison — meaning that Trump’s clemency order on the first day of his second term may have actively facilitated criminal conduct.”

The report continued that “so little is known about what became of the hundreds and hundreds of people Trump pardoned or whose sentences he commuted” because “unlike parolees, pardoned individuals are not subject to monitoring, reporting requirements, or oversight of any kind.”

“The only way to know what becomes of them is to look,” the report said.

Lawfare admitted that its report “is still very likely not exhaustive,” and is “likely missing cases.” However, it claimed the report is “the most comprehensive study yet of the crimes alleged against Jan. 6 pardonees in the years since their prosecutions for the insurrection.”

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