President Trump issues two pardons related to Jan. 6 investigation : NPR

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump announced two pardons in connection with the investigation into the Jan. 6, 2021, riot, including one for a woman convicted of threatening to shoot FBI agents who were investigating tips that she may have been at the Capitol, officials said Saturday.

In another case, Trump announced a second pardon on Jan. 6 for a defendant who remained behind bars despite a sweeping pardon for Capitol rioters because of a separate conviction for illegally possessing a firearm.

It's the latest example of Trump's willingness to use his constitutional powers to help supporters who have come under scrutiny as part of a sweeping investigation launched by the Biden administration on Jan. 6 that led to charges against more than 1,500 defendants.

Suzanne Ellen Kaye was released last year after serving an 18-month sentence for making threats. After the FBI contacted her in 2021 about a tip indicating she may have been at the Capitol on Jan. 6, she posted a video on social media in which she invoked her Second Amendment right to bear arms and threatened to shoot agents if they came to her home. In court papers, prosecutors said her words “are part of a pervasive pattern of violent political rhetoric that causes serious harm to our communities.”

An email seeking comment was sent to Kaye's lawyer on Saturday. According to court documents, Kaye testified at trial that she did not have a weapon and did not intend to threaten the FBI. She told authorities she was not at the Capitol on Jan. 6 and has not been charged with any crimes related to the Capitol riot.

A White House spokesman said Kaye suffers from “stress-induced seizures” and suffered one as the jury announced its verdict. The White House said it was “a clear case of prosecution of disapproving First Amendment political speech and excessive sentencing.” The official wished to remain anonymous because he was not authorized to discuss the case publicly.

In a separate case, Trump pardoned Daniel Edwin Wilson Louisville, Kentucky, man was under investigation for his role in the riot when authorities found six handguns and about 4,800 rounds of ammunition in his home. Because he had a previous felony conviction, it was illegal for him to own a firearm.

Wilson's case has become part of a legal debate over whether Trump's sweeping pardon of the Jan. 6 rioters in January applies to other crimes uncovered during the widening federal prosecution that began after the attack on the Capitol. The Trump-appointed federal judge who oversaw Wilson's case criticized the Justice Department earlier this year for arguing that the Jan. 6 presidential pardon applied to Wilson's gun crime.

Wilson, who was due to remain in prison until 2028, was released Friday night after being pardoned, his lawyer said Saturday.

“We are grateful that President Trump recognized the injustice in my client’s case and granted him a pardon,” attorney George Pallas said in an email. “Mr Wilson can now be reunited with his family and begin to rebuild his life.”

A White House spokesman said Saturday that “because the search of Mr. Wilson's home was prompted by the events of January 6 and they should not have been there in the first place, President Trump is pardoning Mr. Wilson for his firearms issues.”

In 2024, Wilson was sentenced to five years in prison after pleading guilty to conspiracy to impede or injure police officers and illegal possession of a firearm in his home.

Prosecutors accused him of planning the Jan. 6 riot for weeks and coming to Washington to stop the peaceful transfer of power. Authorities said he interacted with members of the far-right extremist group Oath Keepers and supporters of the anti-government Three Percenters movement during the march to the Capitol.

Prosecutors cited messages that they said showed Wilson was “planning a broader civil war in America.” In one message dated November 9, 2020, he wrote: “I am ready to do anything. I made a decision. I understand that the tip of the spear will not be easy. I am ready to sacrifice myself if necessary. Whether it's prison or death.”

During his sentencing, Wilson said he regretted entering the Capitol that day but “got involved with good intentions.”

In February, the Justice Department initially argued that Trump's pardon of the Jan. 6 rioters on his first day back in the White House did not cover Wilson's gun crime. The agency later changed its position, saying it had received “additional clarity regarding the purpose of the presidential pardon.”

U.S. District Judge Dabney Friedrich, whom Trump appointed to the judgeship, criticized the department's changing position and called it “extraordinary” that prosecutors were trying to prove that Trump's Jan. 6 pardon covered illegal “contraband” investigators discovered during searches related to the Jan. 6 cases.

Politico first reported Wilson's pardon on Saturday. Megerian reported from West Palm Beach, Florida.