Pardoned Rioters Argue Other Cases Should Be Moot

The pardon President Trump signed on his first day in office absolves the Jan. 6, 2021, rioters of "offenses related to events that occurred at or near" the US Capitol on that day. Some of those pardoned, facing other charges, are arguing to courts that they should be covered for those counts, too—including conspiracy to murder and possession of child pornography, the Wall Street Journal reports. The defendants include:

• Edward Kelley: Convicted of assaulting police at the Capitol, the Tennessee man since has been convicted of conspiring to murder the FBI agents who investigated his role in the riot—a plot hatched while he was awaiting trial. His attorney has argued to a judge that the conviction should be thrown out, writing "there can be no dispute that Kelley's case in this court is related to the events of January 6th and is covered by the President's executive action."
• David Daniel: Facing child pornography charges, the North Carolina man brought up a similar argument. His attorney told the Journal in an interview that nearly all of the prosecution's evidence was obtained in a search of Daniel's house in connection with the Jan. 6 investigation. "Anything that flowed from that case, given the pardon, should be excluded and inadmissible at trial," he said.

• Daniel Ball: The Florida man is charged with illegal possession of a gun and ammunition —given his prior felony convictions that include domestic violence battery by strangulation. His lawyer says the case should be tossed because it springs from a search when Ball was arrested on suspicion of riot crimes, charges that were still pending when he was pardoned by Trump. "I don't see how they could in good faith say this case is not covered by the presidential proclamation, because it only came about because of the Jan. 6 case," she said. A spokeswoman for the US Attorney's Office in Tampa countered that "the government's position is that the pardon does not apply to Mr. Ball's conduct in the Middle District of Florida."

(More Capitol riot stories.)