Trump Issues New Pardons for Two Individuals Linked to January 6 Cases

President Donald Trump has issued a new pardon for Dan Wilson, a militia member involved in the January 6, 2021, Capitol riot, extending clemency to include firearms offenses in Kentucky that were not covered in his Inauguration Day pardon. The decision overrides an earlier ruling from the appeals court for the District of Columbia, which said Wilson’s initial pardon did not apply to the Kentucky charges. The court’s April decision sent Wilson back to prison, citing the narrow wording of the original pardon.

Wilson’s latest unconditional pardon was issued Friday. U.S. pardon attorney Ed Martin, who previously advocated for clemency in the case, celebrated the decision, stating that Wilson is now a free man. The White House said the firearms charges were discovered during investigations tied to January 6, and therefore fell under the broader circumstances Trump used to justify the new pardon.

Investigators found Wilson may have possessed unauthorized firearms during the January 6 probe, and the White House emphasized that the search was directly connected to that investigation. Trump, who issued more than a thousand pardons and commutations for January 6 defendants earlier this year, has repeatedly defended his actions.

A second pardon was also granted Friday to Suzanne Kaye, who was sentenced to prison after threatening to shoot FBI agents in a 2021 video. Her comments were directed at agents seeking to question her about her presence in Washington, DC, on January 6. She was arrested the following month.

The Justice Department noted in a previous release that Kaye said on video she would shoot the agents if they approached her home. Martin alleged that Kaye had been targeted unfairly and said Trump’s latest pardons are meant to unwind what he described as political overreach by federal prosecutors.

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