Two brothers convicted for their involvement in the January 6, 2021, Capitol attack became the first rioters to be released late Monday after President Trump granted pardons to hundreds of participants on his first day in office.
Andrew and Matthew Valentin, residents of Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania, were freed from the Central Detention Facility in Washington, D.C., just before midnight. Trump administration officials, speaking outside the jail, credited Elon Musk as "the mastermind" behind their unexpected release. "The first two January 6 defendants have been released. This is a few hours after President Trump signed his historic pardon," the White House liaison to the Justice Department Paul Ingrassia told reporters on Monday.
Freed by Trump
The Insignia described the pardon a "monumental moment in our history." "This injustice is ending in America tonight and this dark chapter in our country's history is coming to an end," Ingrassia added.
Trump, 78, announced that he had granted "approximately 1,500 pardons" at the White House on Monday amid the day's inaugural celebrations.
Just hours after taking office, the president signed a document commuting 14 prison sentences and granting "a full, complete, and unconditional pardon to all individuals convicted of offenses related to the events at or near the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021."
The Justice Department had charged 1,583 people in connection with the riot, which erupted after Trump, nearing the end of his first term, told supporters that the 2020 election was being "stolen" from him. The rioters stormed the Capitol in an attempt to disrupt the certification of Electoral College votes confirming Joe Biden's victory.
The Valentin brothers had only been sentenced on Friday to two and a half years in prison each, according to the Pocono Record.
Trump's Mercy to His Supporters
Matthew Valentin, 32, pleaded guilty in September to two felony charges of assaulting, resisting, or obstructing officers and was facing up to eight years in prison, according to the local outlet.
His younger brother, Andrew Valentin, 27, admitted to one felony count of the same offense, along with an additional felony charge for assaulting, resisting, or obstructing officers with a deadly or dangerous weapon. He faced a potential sentence of up to 28 years.
Although neither brother entered the Capitol on January 6, both were involved in scuffles with law enforcement officers.
Matthew "aggressively grabbed an officer's neck" and sprayed "a chemical irritant" at officers, while Andrew threw a chair at law enforcement, hitting one of them, according to a sentencing memo from the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia.
Both brothers also snatched police batons from officers while insulting them, the memo added. Andrew wrote a letter expressing remorse for his actions, while Matthew's lawyer said that "he has repeatedly mentioned more than once how he is still haunted by his acts daily."
"I am disappointed in myself when I think about how the law enforcement agents must have felt on that day and every day since," Andrew wrote in his apology letter.
"My intentions were never to hurt anyone and I cannot believe that I behaved in such a manner."
Trump had vowed to release "our great hostages" well before his inauguration.
