A January 6 rioter once dubbed ‘MAGA granny’ has refused to accept U.S. President Donald Trump’s presidential pardon.
Pamela Hemphill, 72, fought to reject the pardon, saying it was an insult to the rule of law, after Trump issued it on his first day back in office.
Thousands of rioters took part in the violent assault on the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021, after Trump lost the 2020 presidential election to Joe Biden.
Highlights
- Pamela Hemphill, dubbed ‘MAGA granny,’ rejected Trump’s presidential pardon for her January 6 Capitol riot conviction.
- Hemphill called accepting the pardon an insult to the rule of law.
- She described Trump’s pardons as part of a false narrative aimed at gaslighting and downplaying the January 6 events.
- Hemphill admitted she was influenced by disinformation and later realized she had been part of Trump's 'cult.'
- The Justice Department acknowledged Hemphill’s rejection and declined to issue any formal pardon certificate.
Pamela Hemphill said accepting the pardon would be an insult
Image credits: Facebook
Since securing a second term, Trump has issued pardons and commuted the sentences of those involved.
But Hemphill has described it all as a lie after pleading guilty to a misdemeanor charge and spending two months in federal prison.
“The pardons just contribute to their narrative, which is all lies, propaganda. We were guilty, period,” she told CBS News.
“We all know that they're gaslighting us. They are using January 6 to just continue Trump’s narrative that the Justice Department was weaponized,” she said.
Image credits: Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images
“They were not. When the FBI came to my home, oh my God, they were very professional. They treated me very good.”
“How could you sleep at night taking a pardon when you know you were guilty? You know that everybody there was guilty” Hemphill added.
“I couldn’t live with myself. I have to be right with me, and with God.”
Hemphill, from Idaho, had posted on social media in December 2020, urging people to go to the Capitol on January 6.
“It’s not going to be a FUN Trump rally that is planned for January 6th, it’s a WAR,” she wrote on Facebook.
Image credits: The White House
“The fight for America is REAL, show up I don’t want to hear your excuses!
“We have no second chances, if millions, and I mean millions, show up we may have a chance.”
In a later post, Hemphill posed with a firearm and wrote: “Happy New Year! On my way to Washington D. C. January 6th!”
The FBI was tipped off about the posts in 2021, and when agents reviewed video footage, they found evidence that she was inside the Capitol during the riot.
Donal Trump issued thousands of pardons on his first day in office
Image credits: FBI
After receiving her pardon, Hemphill reached out to Senator James Risch in an effort to obtain official recognition from the Department of Justice that she was rejecting it.
In a letter, the Office of the Pardon Attorney informed Risch that Hemphill’s decision not to accept the pardon had been acknowledged.
The department stated that it would not provide a formal certificate documenting the pardon.
“Ms Hemphill’s non-acceptance is noted and there is no further action needed,” the letter said.
Image credits: FBI
“Additionally, our Office will not issue Ms Hemphill a certificate of pardon and will refrain from requesting any notation of pardon on her criminal record history.”
Hemphill said she felt like disinformation had played a role in her storming the Capitol that day, as she believed the “lies” pushed by the Trump camp.
“They lie about everything and they’re just following the footprints of Trump,” she told CNN.
“They’ve lost their critical thinking, and I didn’t realize a president could ever become a cult leader,” Hemphill continued.
She said she came to the realization that she had been part of a “cult” after reading leading cult expert Steven Hassan’s 2019 book on Trump.
Image credits: Facebook