Capitol Riot Participant Refuses Trump Pardon, Admits Wrongdoing

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Pamela Hemphill, a 71-year-old participant in the January 6, 2021, U.S. Capitol riot, has refused a presidential pardon from Donald Trump, stating she was wrong to take part in the insurrection. Hemphill, who served 60 days in prison, said accepting the pardon would undermine the rule of law and insult Capitol police officers.

“I pleaded guilty because I was guilty,” Hemphill told the BBC. “Accepting a pardon would only contribute to their gaslighting and false narrative.” Hemphill, nicknamed the “MAGA granny” on social media, was among the hundreds who stormed the Capitol in an attempt to overturn the 2020 presidential election results.

Hemphill, who pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of demonstrating inside the Capitol, described her time in prison as a nightmare. “I’m claustrophobic. Thank God the doors aren’t locked, but you can’t go out,” she said. “You just learn to do it five minutes at a time, ten minutes at a time.”

She recounted being injured during the riot, saying she was knocked down, stepped on, and had her shoulder dislocated. “If it wasn’t for the Capitol Police Officers, I wouldn’t be here ’cause I couldn’t breathe,” she said.

Hemphill’s turning point came when she realized the “Stop the Steal” movement was based on lies. “Everything starts with Trump saying the election was stolen. That’s where it all started. It wasn’t stolen,” she said. She now describes the rioters as criminals and the event as an insurrection.

Trump’s decision to pardon or commute the sentences of nearly 1,600 people involved in the riot has drawn criticism from some Republican politicians. Senator Thom Tillis of North Carolina said the move “raises legitimate safety issues on Capitol Hill,” while Senator James Lankford of Oklahoma emphasized the importance of upholding the rule of law.

Among those pardoned was Jacob Chansley, the self-styled “QAnon Shaman,” who expressed relief upon hearing the news. “I walked outside and I screamed ‘freedom’ at the top of my lungs,” Chansley told the BBC.

Hemphill, now cancer-free, plans to complete her probation and continue speaking out against the events of January 6. “I’ve gotta live the rest of my life knowing I was there, a part of it,” she said. “That’s why I gotta speak out, be vulnerable. Death threats, whatever, I have to feel that I’ve done the best that I can to let others know that whatever happened that day was wrong.”