As Donald Trump's supporters encircled Congress on Jan. 6, 2021, some of the most ardent created a military-style formation known as a "stack" to breach the U.S. Capitol. A Floridian known as "Gator One" led the charge, entering the building in an attempt to stop the certification of Trump's defeat.
The actions of Kelly Meggs were not spontaneous, court records show. Chat logs unveiled during a Justice Department prosecution found Meggs planned the march with others, participated in Florida training sessions, coordinated travel and mapped out the deployment of weapons caches and "quick reaction forces" in and around Washington. For his efforts, Meggs was found guilty of seditious conspiracy and sentenced to 12 years in prison.
Now, President-elect Donald Trump says he plans to pardon "most" of the more than 1,400 people who have faced federal charges related to the Capitol attack, carried out in a violent attempt to stop the certification of Joe Biden's win in the 2020 election.
The question is whether Trump will distinguish between those who were convicted or pleaded guilty to lesser charges -- like trespassing on government property or obstructing Congress -- and those like Meggs, who were determined to have actively planned and led the assault.
"Those people have suffered long and hard. And there may be some exceptions to it -- I have to look," Trump told NBC's "Meet the Press." "These people have suffered. Their lives have been destroyed."
"I'm going to look at everything. We're going to look at individual cases," he added. "But I'm going to be acting very quickly."
Convicts Lobbying
Trump's transition team did not respond to the Miami Herald's request for comment on whether he plans to consider the severity of Jan. 6 offenders' crimes as he weighs potential pardons.
Asked at a news conference on Monday whether he would issue "blanket pardons" for Jan. 6 offenders, Trump did not offer any clarity on his approach: "Well, you'll find out, but it's going to go quickly."
Pardoning Jan. 6 offenders could prove politically risky for Trump. A recent Monmouth University poll found that only 34% of voters would approve of such a move, while 61% are opposed to the pardons. Another survey from Scripps News and Ipsos showed that only 30% of voters support issuing pardons for Jan. 6 rioters.
Enrique Tarrio, a Miami native who was also convicted of seditious conspiracy and is now serving a 22-year prison sentence, is among those hoping for leniency under a new administration. Tarrio had been chairman of the Proud Boys, a far-right extremist group, and was found guilty for helping to organize the Jan. 6 attack, based on thousands of communications revealed in discovery during his federal trial.
In a letter released on Nov. 6, the day after Trump's election, Tarrio's attorney, Nayib Hassan, wrote that his legal team would pursue "every possible avenue" to free him.
"We are optimistic about what lies ahead," wrote Hassan.
Reached by phone on Tuesday, Hassan said that he has spoken with Tarrio since Election Day, but declined to elaborate on their conversation. He said that he is actively pursuing various paths to secure Tarrio's release from prison, including an appeal and a potential presidential pardon.
"From our vantage point, we're trying to make every possible avenue to have our client released as soon as possible," Hassan said. "We understand that [a pardon is] not the end-all-be-all. [Trump] has the ultimate say."
Tarrio was among dozens of Floridians who faced charges after the attack on the Capitol. A Manatee County man who snatched Nancy Pelosi's lectern was sentenced to 75 days in jail. Thomas Osborne, of Lakeland, was found guilty this month of felony and misdemeanor offenses after he was accused of scuffling with a police officer during the riot. Gabriel Garcia, a former U.S. Army captain and member of the Vice City Proud Boys in Miami, was sentenced this month to a year in prison after his conviction on a felony charge.
Norm Pattis, whose clients include Proud Boys like Joe Biggs, said he has already sent letters to Trump's team requesting pardons for his clients, but hasn't had any direct contact with the president-elect's staff. Biggs, an Army veteran from Ormond Beach, was convicted last year of seditious conspiracy and other crimes and sentenced to 17 years in prison.
Pattis said that his clients are "hopeful" that Trump will grant them pardons once he takes office, though Pattis himself isn't sure what will happen.
"Parsing what's on the president's mind is beyond my paygrade. People have a tendency to hear what they want to hear when they're in need," Pattis told the Herald. "They're hopeful. I want to control their expectations. Nobody has a right to a pardon."
Pattis said that he expects those convicted of assaulting a law enforcement officer to bear the closest scrutiny as Trump weighs the Jan. 6 pardons. If that's the case, Pattis said, his clients "are in very good shape," because his clients didn't face such charges.
Another attorney for several defendants charged in the Jan. 6 riot told the Herald that his clients are optimistic about their chances of receiving a presidential pardon when Trump takes office, but acknowledged that some of the more serious offenders -- including those who, like Meggs, were convicted of crimes like seditious conspiracy -- could ultimately be let down by the president-elect.
It's unclear if Meggs will seek a pardon. The Herald was unable to reach his attorney for comment.
'A Sad Day for American Democracy'
For many Americans, Jan. 6, 2021 is burned into their memories: Hundreds of rioters descended on the U.S. Capitol in an effort to keep Trump in the White House; windows were broken; lawmakers, aides and journalists were forced to take cover; one rioter was shot -- and later died -- after she entered the Capitol.
Trump, who never formally conceded the 2020 election to Biden, largely sat quiet in the White House as his supporters stormed Capitol Hill, even as rioters chanted in support of hanging Vice President Mike Pence, who was charged with overseeing the vote to certify Biden's electoral victory.
Several police officers who responded to the riots on Jan. 6 have either taken their own lives or attempted suicide in the wake of the attack.
Florida Democratic lawmakers say the chaos of that day shouldn't be forgotten, arguing that letting offenders off the hook for trying to overturn the American democratic process would set a terrible precedent.
"None of those who were convicted of attacking our Capitol and disrupting the peaceful transfer of power that is so central to our democracy, should be absolved, especially not for the architects or most violent perpetrators," Democratic Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz of Florida told the Herald. "Any pardon should be evaluated individually, based on the specifics of a particular case."
Democratic Rep. Darren Soto of Florida recalled being one of the last members of Congress trapped in the House chamber as rioters breached the Capitol on Jan. 6. He said that he heard gunshots and pepper spray canisters being fired as police worked to evacuate lawmakers from the building.
"It was a sad day for American democracy -- and a violent one too," Soto told the Herald.
Soto said that it would be a "disgrace" for Trump to commute the sentence of even a single Jan. 6 rioter.
"Several of them were convicted of seditious conspiracy, including two Floridians. That's treason," Soto said. "My concern is you have to set a deterrent. There has to be a penalty."
© 2024 Miami Herald.
Visit miamiherald.com.
Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
