Trump's pardon attorney considers full clemency for Oath Keepers and founder Stewart Rhodes over Jan. 6 crimes [View all]
Source: The Independent
Wednesday 28 May 2025 11:54 EDT
The man Donald Trump appointed to review pardon requests at the Department of Justice is already reviewing full clemency for Stewart Rhodes, the founder of the Oath Keepers militia group who was convicted of treason-related charges in connection with the Jan. 6 storming of the Capitol.
Justice Department pardon attorney Ed Martin recently met with lawyer Peter Ticktin, who delivered 11 pardon applications — including one for Rhodes, who was convicted of seditious conspiracy and sentenced to 18 years in prison in connection with the Capitol assault. Hours after taking office, Trump commuted his sentence, along with the sentences of 13 other Capitol rioters, including Oath Keepers and Proud Boys members who were similarly convicted. Rhodes was released from prison hours later.
Martin, a prominent “Stop the Steal” activist who defended Jan. 6 defendants, was briefly Trump’s top prosecutor in Washington, D.C., tasked with running the office that handled those prosecutions. Trump recently withdrew his name for consideration for the role and instead installed him as the pardon chief and head of the Justice Department’s “Weaponization Working Group.”
According to Politico, the renewed effort to fully pardon Rhodes and other Jan. 6 offenders was arranged by Ticktin and Treniss Evans, who help run the right-wing nonprofit legal group American Rights Alliance.
Read more: https://www.the-independent.com/news/world/americas/us-politics/trump-pardons-stewart-rhodes-jan-6-ed-martin-b2759341.html