Who are the Kansas Jan. 6 rioters that could be pardoned by Donald Trump?
TOPEKA (KSNT) - Kansans punished for participating in the riot at the nation's Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021 may soon get some help from the next president of the U.S.
Donald Trump won his bid for reelection in the November General Election, setting him up to become the 47th president of the nation next year. His controversial return to the Oval Office could begin with a series of pardons for some of his supporters who were arrested in connection to the riot at the Capitol in Washington.
Trump has promised while on the campaign trail to pardon those involved with the riot which took place shortly after his 2020 reelection defeat to President Joe Biden. Many of the more than 1,500 people involved in the incident who have been arrested, charged and/or sentenced are looking to possibly being pardoned by Trump once he reenters the White House.
Nine people from Kansas were among those arrested in connection to the riot, according to the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ). These include the following:
- Ryan Ashlock - Lenexa.
- William Chrestman - Olathe.
- Michael Eckerman - Wichita.
- Kasey Von Owen Hopkins - Kansas City.
- Jennifer Ruth Parks - Kansas City.
- William Alexander Pope - Topeka.
- Mark Roger Rebegila - Topeka.
- Esther Schwemmer - Kansas City.
- Chad Dustin Suenram - Haysville.
The DOJ has given prison sentences to some of the Kansans listed above, such as Chrestman and Eckerman, for their actions on Jan. 6, 2021. Chrestman received more than four years in prison while Eckerman received nearly two years.
Pope, a former Topeka City Council candidate who was arrested in connection to the Capitol riot, recently filed a document on Nov. 9 with the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia requesting his trial be delayed. He cited Trump's campaign promises of issuing pardons to those involved in the riot as his argument for why his trail should be postponed.
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