Federal prosecutors have described David Dempsey as “one of the most violent rioters” during the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol.
According to court documents, the Van Nuys man stormed the building using a flagpole, metal crutches and broken furniture, injuring police and other protesters. He “severely assaulted and injured a police officer” for more than an hour “during one of the most violent hours and at the scene of one of the most violent confrontations,” prosecutors wrote.
In August, he was sentenced to 20 years in prison after pleading guilty to assaulting a law enforcement officer with a dangerous weapon and breaking into the Capitol.
But on Tuesday, Dempsey was released after serving less than 3 1/2 years in prison after President Trump granted substantial pardons or commutations to everyone (more than 1,500 people) convicted of the Jan. 6 crimes, officials said. admitted.
Other Jan. 6 defendants whom Trump referred to as “hostages” have also been released across the country, based on the Justice Department’s referral of Trump’s orders to the Bureau of Prisons.
“People seem to be being released by the minute,” said Amy Collins, a Washington-based attorney who represents several of the January 6 defendants, including Mr. Dempsey. “In fact, the Department of Justice seems to be getting on board with it pretty quickly.”
Collins declined to comment on Dempsey’s case, but said the clemency process, which followed years of litigation, plea deals and trials, had been “surreal” for defendants and lawyers alike.
“The fact that Mr. Trump kept his word and that had direct consequences for our case is a pretty big deal,” she said. “This is a very unique situation.”
The sudden release of so many criminals on January 6th meant that federal prosecutors were able to identify, pursue, prosecute and sentence the hundreds of Trump supporters and MAGA hardliners who stormed and attacked the Capitol. It marked a spectacular end to years of grueling and expensive work. After Trump lost the 2020 election to Joe Biden, attempts to unfairly keep Trump in power failed.
By the end of last year, the investigation had become the largest in Justice Department history, with the Justice Department announcing that it had indicted a total of 1,561 people, 590 of whom were charged with assaulting, resisting, obstructing, or obstructing a law enforcement officer. Nearly 980 people have pleaded guilty, 210 others have been convicted at trial, and 645 have been sentenced to at least a period of imprisonment, the report said.
The Justice Department under the Biden administration positioned the prosecutor’s efforts as an important check on the type of political violence seen that day. It was announced that 140 police officers were assaulted, resulting in millions of dollars in damages.
But Trump never thought of it that way. During his campaign, he repeatedly lied about what happened, downplayed the severity of the attack and suggested those charged were being unfairly held as political prisoners. He promised to grant clemency, but contradicted himself on whether he would pardon everyone charged or a more narrow group.
Trump has faced resistance even within his own Republican Party to pardoning some of the worst offenders, including violent attacks on police officers. Earlier this month, current Vice President J.D. Vance told Fox News that if someone committed an act of violence on January 6, “obviously they shouldn’t be pardoned, and there’s a little bit of a gray area there.” he said.
Supporters of President Trump’s Jan. 6 pardon gather at the DC Central Detention Center in Washington on Tuesday.
(Jose Luis Magana/Associated Press)
Nevertheless, within hours of taking office, Trump pardoned the majority of the January 6 defendants, including many convicted of violent acts. He also commuted the sentences and allowed the release of the remaining 14 most high-profile defendants, including militia leaders charged with seditious conspiracy against the government.
The order sparked consternation on both sides of the political spectrum and anger from liberal leaders and law enforcement officials who were injured in the assault.
Michael Fanone, a former Metropolitan Police Department officer who suffered a heart attack after being shocked by a rioter’s stun gun during the riot, criticized President Trump’s decision to pardon those who assaulted him and other police officers in an interview with CNN. vehemently criticized. He also criticized those who voted to restore Trump to the presidency, despite Trump’s promise to do so during his campaign.
“I was betrayed by my country and I was betrayed by the people who support Donald Trump,” said Fanone, who has been a law enforcement officer for 20 years. “Whether you voted for him because he promised these pardons or for any other reason, you knew this was coming. And here we are.”
Sen. Adam B. Schiff (D-Calif.), a member of the House committee that investigated the riot, said President Trump gave “a literal ‘get out of jail free’ to the rioters who committed horrific violence in his name.” “A card to do so.”
Schiff said the order was not “just a pardon for their crimes” but “a mechanism to allow them to commit crimes again.”
Mr. Fanone and Mr. Schiff were among those pardoned by President Biden early Monday, not because they were indicted on any crime, but because they were responsible for the January 6 attack. This was because they feared that President Trump would seek retribution if they asked questions.
Those released include former Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio and Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes, with Rhodes sentenced to 18 years in prison and Tarrio sentenced to 18 years in prison. He was sentenced to 22 years in prison, both of which ended immediately on the seditious conspiracy charge.
Rose’s sentence was commuted. His lawyer, James Lee Bright, thanked X and wrote, “A plea for clemency is better than being imprisoned while he appeals.”
Tarrio’s lawyer, Naib Hassan, thanked President Trump in a statement and said his client had received a “full and complete pardon.” Hassan called it a “pivotal moment” in Tarrio’s life and “a turning point for our country.”
On Tuesday, President Trump defended pardons for people convicted of violence and refused to eliminate the role of groups like the Proud Boys in future American politics.
“Well, you’ll have to see. They were granted a pardon,” Trump said. “I thought their writing was stupid and excessive.”
Other Californians besides Dempsey were among those pardoned and released.
Defense attorney Dyke Huesch said Tuesday that his client, a member of the Three Percenters militia group, is accused of coordinating a trip from California to Washington, D.C., to stop Biden. He said he was awaiting a certificate of pardon for Russell Taylor. win.
Prosecutors said Taylor, a former La Habra police officer who was wearing body armor and carrying a knife and a hatchet, was accused of helping police cross lines and initially faced a harsher penalty, prosecutors said. He was given a lenient sentence after agreeing to testify against police chief and member of the police organization Alan Hostetter. The so-called DC brigade.
After pleading guilty, Taylor was sentenced to six months of home detention and placed on probation, scheduled to end in 2027. Mr Heusch said such restrictions were “gone” but advised his clients to wait for the certificate.
He said he would continue to push for Taylor’s charges to be dropped because a pardon is not the same as an expungement.
Huesch declined to interview Taylor, but Taylor said he was “very pleased that President Trump has kept his word and is free to return to his life without court-imposed probation.” Ta.
Joe Allen, who represented several defendants in the Jan. 6 attack, including a Californian, said he was not surprised that President Trump granted the pardon, but was a little disappointed in its breadth. He said he was surprised.
“I thought there were criminals. [pleaded] guilty or found guilty [of] “He probably won’t forgive because he’s dealing with a violent crime against a law enforcement officer,” Allen said.
He also believes many should never have been charged. He said his clients “lost a lot” in the process — one client in Tennessee missed the birth of a child — but the pardon gives them “rights back.”
But he also said Trump’s pardons and a series of pardons by Biden earlier Monday, including those who investigated the Jan. 6 attack and others who have drawn the ire of Trump and his family, are the He also questioned how it could negatively impact perceptions of the justice system.
“You have to think about what other countries are thinking when they see our leadership taking actions like this,” he said. “It’s like the embarrassment of a mom and dad fighting in front of their children.”
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