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Pensacola man who served time for Jan. 6 insurrection hopes for pardon under Trump
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Pensacola man who served time for Jan. 6 insurrection hopes for pardon under Trump

President-elect Donald Trump said he plans to pardon rioters charged for their role in the January 6 insurrection in Washington, DC.

Four of those convicted are from Northwest Florida: Jesus Rivera, Tristan Stevens, Timothy O’Malley and Andrew Griswold. Some of their charges range from entering a restricted building to assaulting a police officer.

Rivera, who has already served his prison sentence, hopes to be pardoned but has not been in contact with Trump or his team.

A federal judge convicted Rivera of Pensacola for illegally entering the Capitol on January 6, 2021. He was sent to the federal prison in Jesup, Georgia, in November 2022, for a six-month sentence.

It was pretty discouraging to be honest with you. I didn’t get to see my family, my wife, my kids,” Rivera said. “That’s the main thing that really got to me was not being able to see them.

Rivera said he was at the Capitol as a freelance reporter to capture the events of Jan. 6 with his wife. He live-filmed himself entering the Capitol with a group of Trump supporters through a window without permission.

Rivera did not have media credentials to go inside the Capitol. The affidavit claims Rivera was inside for 20 minutes before leaving. He claims he did nothing wrong.

“If there was anything different that I would do, I mean, I don’t know,” Rivera said. “Not much…I’m just doing a little more research on the do’s and don’ts and, you know, what can and can’t be done.”

One hundred and seventy-two police officers were injured when rioters attacked them. Five people died during or after the attack, including a Capitol police officer.

Trump said he would exonerate the nonviolent offenders who stormed the Capitol that day. Rivera hopes he keeps that promise.

You know, you have to understand, I was one of the first people arrested in Florida for this,” Rivera said. “One of the first people to be tried for a misdemeanor, and I served my time. So a pardon would give me an exoneration.

“I believe there are individuals who have done stupid things,” he said. “There are individuals who deserve to still be in prison and who deserve to serve time for what they did.”

In the case of the other Northwest Florida men charged in the riot, Stevens was convicted of five felonies and is serving a five-year prison sentence.

O’Malley was sentenced to 24 months probation for his role. And Griswold served 75 days in jail.

More than 1,400 people have been charged in connection with the January 6 attack. And prosecutors obtained more than 1,000 convictions.

Trump has not said when he plans to pardon nonviolent offenders.