U.S. District Judge Dabney Friedrich pressed a prosecutor to explain why the department abandoned its initial conclusion that Daniel Edwin Wilson must report back to prison because it didn't believe that his pardon for the Jan. 6, 2021, riot extended to his firearms convictions.
Friedrich said it was “extraordinary” for the Justice Department to declare that President Donald Trump's blanket pardons for Capitol rioters apply to crimes related to illegal “contraband” found by investigators during searches related to the Jan. 6 cases.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Jennifer Blackwell said Justice Department officials recently provided “further clarity” that Trump intended for Wilson’s pardon to cover his firearms convictions.
A federal judge on Wednesday criticized the Justice Department's evolving position that a presidential pardon for a Kentucky man who stormed the Capitol also covers his conviction for illegally possessing guns at his home.
The Justice Department concluded that Trump's pardon for another Capitol riot defendant, Jeremy Brown, also applies to his separate convictions for illegally possessing stolen grenades and classified information.
