CINCINNATI — Nearly 80 defendants from Ohio, around a dozen specifically from Greater Cincinnati, have received presidential pardons for their actions related to the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol.
President Donald Trump signed an executive order Monday granting pardons to 1,500-plus Jan. 6 defendants, including people convicted of assaulting police officers.
Trump’s action, just hours after his return to the White House, was received by many with mixed emotions. Warren County couple Sandra and Bennie Parker said the pardon was a welcomed relief.
“I just have lived under this cloud for so long and all of sudden it’s lifted," Sandra Parker told WCPO. "You just don’t know how to feel or what to think.”
The Parkers are members of the Oath Keepers militia group, according to an FBI affidavit. But the Parkers deny it. Bennie and Sandra were convinced of conspiracy and other counts related to entry at the Capitol.
According to an unsealed search warrant, federal agents seized more than 20 firearms and thousands of rounds of ammunition from the Parkers' home in Morrow in February 2021. Federal agents seized magazines and boxes of ammunition for a wide variety of weapons, including handguns, semi-automatic rifles and shotguns, according to a list of items attached to the executed search warrant.
Sitting in the Oval Office, Trump said he hoped that many of the defendants could be released from prison as early as Monday night.
“They’ve already been in jail for a long time,” Trump said. “These people have been destroyed.”
Along with paying fines and court fees, the Parkers were sentenced to house arrest and community service. Bennie Parker did not enter the Capitol but Sandra did — donning what appears to be camouflage and goggles. When asked about the choice of dress, she mentioned someone associated with the Oath Keepers gave it to her and her husband for their safety.
"They were going to go in and help, whatever, I just followed them because I knew I could help I had medical training and stuff," Parker said. "After I was back in my hotel on the day of Jan. 6 and saw some of the things I saw going on in other places that I didn’t witness with my own eyes, my heart sank."
Ben Glassman, a former U.S. attorney for the Southern District of Ohio, said he has concerns about the precedent set by these pardons — especially for those convicted of assaulting police.
"If you support law and order and you support law enforcement, I cannot think of any reason that justifies that action," Glassman said.
Trump also directed the Department of Justice to dismiss many of the ongoing cases that stem from Jan. 6. To see a full list of the Southwest Ohio residents who received either pardons or commutations, click here.
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