Donald Trump pardon recipients being charged with new crimes
Donald Trump has been saying that many of the J6 rioters he's pardoned were good people simply caught in bad situations. Unfortunately, many of them are continuing to get up to mischief that suggests they might not actually be law-abiding citizens during other times of their life, either.
MSN.com is reporting that at least 12 people who have been pardoned by President Donald Trump across his two terms have been apprehended by police since being excused for their crimes.
The article states that the White House had been contacted for comment on the issue, but hasn't yet responded.
Did Trump overlook justice?
Many people are questioning whether or not Donald Trump pardoned these people because he truly believed they were innocent, or simply because they supported him. Even some Republicans have criticized Donald Trump's decision to pardon his political allies, former aides, celebrities, and J6 rioters.
Trump assured his doubters that these people deserved their pardons, but now they need to act like it. Crime is an important issue in America, with 92% of Americans saying they care about the issue. If the people who Trump pardoned all turn out to be truly bad eggs, that would really hurt Donald Trump's credibility.
Donald Trump pardoned 238 people during his first term, and has already pardoned more than 1,5000 Capitol rioters since returning to the White House in 2025. He's also pardoned seven people accused of blockading a Michigan abortion clinic in 2020.
Trump has insisted that many of these pardons went to good people who were simply caught in bad situations, but some of them have already been acting out again, hurting the credibility of Trump's claims.
At least 12 have been arrested again
At least 10 people Trump pardoned during his first term, and two more who were pardoned in 2025, have already been charged again with new crimes upon their release from prison. Another Capitol rioter is still on the run from police because of a prior warrant.
Two Capitol rioters have had run-ins with police less than a week after being pardoned. At least one of the police altercations was fatal.
January 6 rioter Matthew Huttle was recently fatally shot by an officer after allegedly resisting arrest during a traffic stop in Indiana.
Local police reported that Huttle "was in possession of a firearm" during the altercation, but it is not clear whether Huttle attempted to use it.
Another Capitol rioter to be rearrested is Daniel Ball, who was taken into custody because of a federal gun charge shortly after his release from prison.
According to MSN:
Despite being pardoned over his actions on January 6—where Ball allegedly threw an explosive into the Capitol, causing hearing loss among police officers which lasted for months—Ball still has a criminal record for domestic violence battery by strangulation in 2017 and resisting law enforcement with violence and battery in 2021, meaning his possession of a .22 caliber rifle and ammunition put him in violation of federal gun laws.
Donald Trump did these people a HUGE favor by believing in them enough to pardon them, and it doesn't make our leader look very good when these people can't be on their best behavior. Donald Trump is already facing resistance from liberals at every turn. Trump's supporters should be working on making Donald Trump's job easier. Instead, these criminals are making it harder for Trump to do his job.
