J6 Prisoners Tip Of Iceberg: Other Biden Victims Await Pardons

Immediately after taking the oath of office a second time on Jan. 20, President Donald J. Trump granted clemency to every defendant charged, convicted, or sentenced for participation in the 2021 U.S. Capitol election protests.

Leftist activists were just as immediate four years ago in making “January Sixth” into a day of infamy, claiming all unruly acts that day amounted to an “insurrection,” with mainstream media following with exaggerated descriptions such as “deadly riots.”

In all, Trump pardoned nearly 1,500 persons who were in jail for their role — “J6ers” as they were called. Trump commuted the sentences of 14 people by name (members of the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers) and gave “a full, complete and unconditional pardon to all other individuals convicted of offenses related to events that occurred at or near the United States Capitol on January 6, 2021.” Two were immediately let go as their prison release paperwork was being prepared in advance of Trump’s orders, while others took about a day to process.

Silk Road founder freed

It was a sweeping executive action that failed to take into account the specific actions of each person arrested, critics have said. However, that’s not where the pardons stopped.

On Tuesday, Trump issued a full and unconditional pardon to Ross Ulbricht, founder Silk Road, a dark web speakeasy for various goods and drugs listed as illegal by various authorities. Ulbricht was serving two life sentences upon news of his pardon.

Pro-life prisoners

Will there be more pardons?

There are at least 21 pro-life protesters currently jailed under the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act during Biden’s presidency, National Review recently pointed out: Joan Bell, Coleman Boyd, Joel Curry, Jonathan Darnel, Eva Edl, Chester Gallagher, William Goodman, Dennis Green, Lauren Handy, Paulette Harlow, John Hinshaw, Heather Idoni, Jean Marshall, Fidelis Moscinski, Justin Phillips, Paul Place, Paul Vaughn, Bevelyn Beatty Williams, Calvin Zastrow, Eva Zastrow, and James Zastrow.

Harlow, a 76-year-old grandmother, has expressed worries on national news that incarceration could worsen her list of extensive medical conditions. She has now been in prison for about two months for her two-year sentence.

Lawfare victims

Still others being held are examples of “lawfare” against Biden rivals. In other words, Trump was not the only one to face hurried trials on questionable charges. Mike Shirley claims he is one such victim. The Florida native and veteran GOP operative and strategist of national campaigns, was sentenced to seven years in prison last year on bribery charges. Shirley, who has been silent since reporting to prison, began speaking out on his X account via volunteers. “He stood up to the Biden DOJ’s political witch hunt and paid a heavy price. He was sent to prison for a crime he didn’t commit, all because he wouldn’t lie about Trump, DeSantis, and Gaetz,” a recent post stated.

Shirley’s defenders say he was part of a string of convictions attempting to take down supporters of Trump ally Matt Gaetz, former Republican Congressman from Florida and, until recently, under consideration for U.S. Attorney General. Supporters pointed out various irregularities, including changing the rules for the jury at the last minute. Shirley’s appeal is ongoing, according to his attorney.

Still building their cases

The J6 prisoners are certainly the tip of the iceberg, while other victims of lawfare and a weaponized DOJ, past and present, are increasingly hopeful for reform and justice as a new administration begins. On Jan. 7, several men who have been the victims of lawfare due to their connections to Trump met up at Mar-a-Lago including Gen. Michael Flynn, Rudy Giuliani, Peter Navarro, former DOJ official Jeff Clark, and guest of honor John Eastman. They were together for a documentary premiere centering on attacks on Eastman. Eastman had made the case that then-Vice President Mike Pence had authority to temporarily postpone certifying 2020 election results.

Before the screening, Death Row Records founder Michael Harris, pardoned by Trump after over 30 years in prison, addressed the audience. If prominent figures such as Eastman, Flynn, and Giuliani can have their lives ruined in this manner, Harris said according to a column in The Stream, “What happens to the everyday citizens” who don’t have as many resources to defend themselves to start with?

A full list of Trump pardons is being kept here.

Disclaimer: The author of this article has worked with Shirley on two local campaigns.