At least five people pardoned by Trump for Capitol attack accused of new crimes

The number of president’s supporters accused of committing new crimes after Donald Trump pardoned them for their roles in the 6 January 2021 US Capitol attack recently increased to at least five. Ryan Nichols, 35, became the latest such Capitol attacker on 10 May, when authorities in Harleton, Texas , say he threateningly displayed a handgun to a person with whom he was arguing in a church parking lot. Nichols in November 2023 had pleaded guilty in connection with the insurrection at the Capitol from Trump supporters after his first presidency ended in defeat to Joe Biden after the 2020 election. Among other things, he acknowledged attacking officers with pepper spray and making a video during the riot in which he said, “It’s going to be violent and … if you are asking, ‘Is Ryan Nichols going to bring violence? Yes, Ryan Nichols is going to bring violence.’” A federal judge later sentenced Nichols to five years and three months in prison. But Nichols was freed early when he was unconditionally pardoned along with 1,500 other participants on the first day of Trump’s second presidency in January 2025. Then, on 11 May, the sheriff’s office of Texas’ Harrison county – which includes Harleton – said its deputies encountered Nichols one day earlier while responding to a complaint about “a person reaching for a firearm during a dispute outside the church”. …