A New Hampshire resident who was at the time involved in a “small, local, rural group of New Hampshire gay Republicans” and who was convicted for participating in the January 6, 2021 riot inside the US Capital has turned down the pardon offered to him by President Trump.
Reports Boston.com:
Jason D. Riddle, 36, of Keene, stole and drank a bottle of wine from inside a lawmaker’s office in the Capitol. He took a book on Senate procedure, which he later sold for $40, according to officials.
In November 2021, he pleaded guilty to theft of government property and parading, demonstrating, or picketing in a Capitol building. He was fined nearly $800 and was sentenced to 90 days in jail, according to the Boston Globe.
Now, he’s turning down the pardon for those actions.
He said taking the pardon would be tantamount to asserting what happened on Jan. 6 was acceptable, according to the Globe.
Riddle said he’s still a recovering alcoholic. A server at a Concord, New Hampshire restaurant, Riddle said he did “stupid things” on Jan. 6 and “got involved with the wrong people.”
Riddle voted for Kamala Harris last November, according to reports.
“Those people are now running the government, that’s fine,” Riddle told the paper. “Doesn’t make it right.”
Riddle’s public defender, Eric Wolpin, said in court papers that Riddle was married with no history of violence. He was primarily politically involved with a “small, local, rural group of gay New Hampshire Republicans” who had never been violent before, according to the Globe.
Read the complete Boston.com story here.
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