Attorney General Merrick Garland stated that prosecutors acted with “unwavering integrity” as the Justice Department initiated cases against 1,583 individuals for the events of January 6, 2021—a day marked by memorable images of chaos and violence at the U.S. Capitol.
On that day, former President Donald Trump drew a large crowd to Washington amidst a controversy over his 2020 election defeat. He labeled these prosecutions as “political persecutions” upon announcing his bid for a second presidential term on January 20.
Trump declared he was putting an end to “a severe national injustice inflicted on the American public over the past four years” and
commuted the sentences of 14 significant offenders from January 6 and granted pardons to the remaining defendants—1,569 individuals, according to federal
data.
Trump extended clemency even to those convicted of assaulting law enforcement officers, a decision that sparked controversy, despite his previous claims that only nonviolent offenders should be considered for leniency.
He defended this
action by stating that those convicted on January 6 had already endured long prison terms, often in “inhumane” conditions, and suggested they faced harsher penalties than many individuals guilty of more severe crimes, such as murder.
A group of former January 6 inmates shared their experiences with The Epoch Times. The publication analyzed statements from the Justice Department regarding each interviewee, along with various other resources for this report.
The respondents, spanning ages from 25 to 55, claimed significant information has been obscured and misrepresented.
They, like many Americans, continue to express confusion regarding the evident lack of security at and around the Capitol on January 6.
They harbor suspicions about government deceit—and potential coverups.
Although officials have dismissed such allegations, a recent report from a government oversight body
revitalized discussions about the actions of “confidential human sources.” According to the Inspector General’s findings, 26 informants were present at the Capitol on January 6.
Four of the informants breached the Capitol; 13 others
accessed prohibited areas without FBI authorization. The FBI did not allow the informants to instigate violence, but the report did not clarify whether the informants complied with that directive.
Clearing Up Misconceptions
Defendants from January 6 cited that many Americans still mistakenly believe police officers were fatally injured during the incident; although 140 officers suffered injuries, none were fatal contrary to early reports.
The exact count of civilian injuries remains uncertain, but according to Trump
only his supporters were killed that day. Police shot Ashli Babbitt, 35, and a confrontation led to Roseanne Boyland, 34, losing consciousness in a stampede; her cause of death is still debated. Investigators found the officers acted appropriately in both incidents.
(L–R) Portraits of Rosanne Boyland, Ashli Babbitt, and Benjamin Phillips, who passed during the incident at the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021, are displayed at a “January 6th Solidarity Truth Rally” nearby the Capitol on September 24, 2022. Alex Wong/Getty Images
The January 6 interviewees concurred that the emergence of more footage has enabled the American public to gain a broader view of that day’s occurrences.
Prior to the eruption of violence, thousands gathered to hear Trump’s address at The Ellipse, a park located about two miles from the Capitol, where Congress was set to certify the 2020 election results.
Trump encouraged the attendees to march to the Capitol “peacefully and patriotically.” However, before his speech concluded, clashes between protesters—possibly infiltrated by provocateurs—and police had already begun at the Capitol.
Footage shows some individuals walking into the Capitol through open doors—past officers who made no effort to stop them. Yet, some of those nonviolent attendees later faced criminal trespassing charges.
Others were involved in violent confrontations with law enforcement, where windows were shattered and the building was forcibly entered. Almost 200 people admitted guilt for assaulting officers, and officials estimated property damages at $1.5 million.
The Common Thread
Many January 6 interviewees expressed remorse about their reactions amid the turmoil as police unleashed munitions and chemicals.
Some individuals
accused law enforcement of disproportionate and unwarranted force, including a retired NYPD officer. However, a report from the Capitol Police found that all 293 documented uses of force were justified—and a
survey revealed some officers felt they were discouraged from using enough force to repel aggressors.
Two of the six interviewees had been convicted of assaulting officers—the conduct that triggered much of the backlash over the Trump pardons. Both defendants’ alleged assaults were connected to retaliatory acts against police using pepper spray or pushing against barricades.
All six interviewees maintained that they were subjected to violations of their constitutional rights, harassment, and other ill-treatment due to their status as January 6 defendants.
None of these interviewees faced convictions for seditious conspiracy; one was acquitted.
They insisted that referring to them as “insurrectionists” was absurd and dismissed the prosecutors’ claims that they attempted to disrupt the peaceful transfer of power from Trump to President-elect Joe Biden.
At most, the interviewees anticipated that Congress might pause the election certification to allow further examination of election anomalies in several states. Some indicated they didn’t even plan to protest; they simply wanted to hear Trump speak and demonstrate their support.
All expressed their gratitude to Trump for advocating on their behalf.
They also hope that an upcoming congressional investigation will “bring to light the complete truth that is owed to the American people,” as House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.)
stated on January 22.
Several January 6 defendants indicated that now that they have regained their freedom, revealing the truth about January 6 is their most earnest aspiration.
(Top) President Donald Trump during the Save America rally in Washington on January 6, 2021. Pepper spray (Bottom Left) and barricades (Bottom Right) were used as Trump’s supporters clashed with police and security personnel at the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021. Lisa Fan/The Epoch Times, Brent Stirton/Getty Images, Roberto Schmidt/AFP via Getty Images
Young Peaceful Protestor Branded as a ‘Terrorist’
Alexander Sheppard reflects on how, as a schoolboy in Worthington, Ohio, a community of 15,000, he learned about Americans’ rights to freedom.
However, he believes being charged following the events of January 6 shattered his “naïve” perspective concerning the exercise of his rights to free speech and protest.
Prior to January 6, Sheppard was a 21-year-old marketing entrepreneur. On a whim, he decided to drive six hours from Ohio to Washington to attend Trump’s “Save America” or “Stop the Steal” rally.
He arrived at 6 a.m., well in advance to secure a prime position at the Ellipse. He stood among a large crowd, just a few rows from the stage, listening to Trump speak that afternoon.
“The atmosphere was one of love and patriotism for our country,” Sheppard stated.
However, when he marched to the Capitol, he witnessed officers deploying tear gas against the crowd. At times, he and others became “riled up” due to the police’s “unjustified force against people.”
Amidst the upheaval, he stated, “I made the foolish choice to enter the building.” He asserted he didn’t think he was breaking any laws, insisting that he believed they had a First Amendment right to protest.
Inside the Capitol, he and others were captivated by its beauty, documenting the occasion through numerous videos and pictures that were later used against him in court.
“If I realized I was committing a crime, I wouldn’t have recorded so much,” he expressed, insisting that he remained nonviolent and did not engage in vandalism.
Tragically, Sheppard was nearby when Babbitt was shot; he covered his head with his hands in shock as she collapsed. His proximity to that widely scrutinized event likely amplified his profile, he noted. Officers subsequently escorted him and others out of that area.
Almost two months later, just after he entered the airport in Columbus, Ohio, roughly ten federal agents pounced on him.
Alexander Sheppard taken in Columbus, Ohio, on January 28, 2025. Samira Bouaou/The Epoch Times
He was taken aback by his arrest, even more so at the sight of a felony charge for obstructing an official proceeding, alongside five misdemeanors for disorderly conduct and for protesting inside the Capitol.
Sheppard was released while awaiting trial. Two years later, in January 2023, jurors found him guilty on five counts. He was acquitted on one misdemeanor for entering a space where he photoshopped a portrait of George Washington, the first President of the United States.
A judge sentenced him to 19 months in prison, significantly less than what prosecutors sought.
While incarcerated, Sheppard discovered he was labeled a “terrorist,” barring him from certain privileges.
He questioned, “How could I be called a ‘terrorist’ when I was charged with no violent crime?”
Preceding the Supreme Court’s June
ruling, a judge supported Sheppard’s lawyer’s assertion that the Fischer case posed a “substantial question” regarding the legitimacy of his sole felony charge.
Sheppard’s lawyer stated, “that question won’t be settled until after he has served more time in prison than is warranted by his misdemeanor convictions,” a judge
noted in January 2024. “Consequently, he requests the Court to release him as he completes his likely misdemeanor sentence.”
The judge reduced Sheppard’s sentence to six months; he was released in May 2024.
He expressed profound gratitude for Trump’s pardon, which erased his criminal convictions—though not the charges—and eliminated post-release stipulations, like requiring travel permissions outside southern Ohio, undergoing urinalysis tests, and reporting to a court official.
At 25 now, Sheppard has taken on low-wage work while aspiring to secure a better job, lamenting the damage to his reputation and record.
However, he observes a shift in public and media perceptions.
“When I faced over 20 years in prison, I was labeled a ‘January 6 Insurrectionist.’ Later, I was termed a ‘Capitol Rioter.’ Now that I WON in the Supreme Court, was PARDONED by the President, and all charges will be dismissed, I’m referred to as a ‘January 6 Participant,'” he shared in a social media
post on January 29.
He wants individuals to understand: “All of us were denied constitutional due process, which justifies President Trump’s pardons for nearly everyone.”
“This pardon offers all of us a renewed opportunity in life,” he stated. “We are getting a fresh start.”
A Mother’s Regrets and a Positive Outlook
Rachel Powell traveled to Washington on January 6 believing she was safeguarding America’s future for her eight children and seven grandchildren—but ultimately found herself apart from them for several months.
Now 44, Powell expressed her concerns about election integrity in her home state of Pennsylvania after the 2020 election. She desired her children to inherit “a fair and free vote.”
“Everything in America relies on that,” she asserted.
However, Powell admits to feeling remorse over some of her actions that day. Anger over officers allegedly using excessive force clouded her judgment.
Although she faced charges for pushing barricades, Powell believes that was a misinterpretation. “The police were moving the barricades towards us,” she recounted.
“For people like me, I refused to back down,” Powell stated firmly. “I was standing my ground as I had the right to do.”
She entered a variety of locations within and around the Capitol, where throngs of individuals were crowded into the West Terrace tunnel, leading to people tumbling on top of one another.
“I heard a woman calling for help at the bottom of that pile,” Powell recalled, referring to the entrance of the tunnel.
She assisted others in lifting fallen demonstrators. “By the time we reached the bottom, there was Roseanne Boyland, clearly dead at my feet,” she recounted.
Alarmed and wary for her safety, Powell withdrew to another section of the building.
In what she now regards as an impulsive decision, she broke a window. Powell believed that creating a new entry point for protesters could avert further fatalities. “I know that sounds irrational, but that was my mindset,” she admitted.
Powell explained that individuals in the crowd handed her objects, including one that prosecutors described as “an ice axe,” which she employed to strike the window frame.
Rachel Powell, a June 6 defendant, displays an ankle monitor in a self-portrait taken during her home confinement in Pennsylvania. Courtesy of Rachel Powell
“For merely using that tool for about 60 seconds, I was charged with possessing a deadly weapon,” she recounted, emphasizing that the axe “vanished back into the crowd” and she didn’t see it again.
Shortly thereafter, the police unleashed explosives and noxious gas, making visibility and breathing difficult. “Suddenly, it was like I snapped out of it. I thought, ‘What are you doing?'” she explained.
Powell fought through the chaos and exited.
Within a week, the FBI put out a “wanted” poster featuring images of her in a pink knit hat and sunglasses.
On February 4, 2021, officers raided her residence in Mercer County, Pennsylvania; they forced their way through the door while a helicopter hovered above. Powell, who was not home at that time, turned herself in. She was released under strict house arrest rules.
Subsequently, a court mandated that her minor children be placed in the custody of another relative. This separation was particularly painful, as Powell had treasured moments with her children more than many mothers. She had become a single mother following the breakdown of her 17-year marriage and was actively engaged in homeschooling and homesteading.
Her case proceeded to a bench trial in mid-2023. Powell denied leading any organized attempt to seize the Capitol, despite using a bullhorn to guide other protesters. She explained to The Epoch Times that she borrowed the bullhorn from another participant and was merely sharing information about the Capitol’s layout based on her observations that day—her first visit to the Capitol.
“I was not familiar with the entire Capitol’s layout,” she asserted and claimed that prosecutors tried to frame her as a ringleader.
In late 2023, a judge
found Powell guilty on nine charges, including obstruction of an official proceeding, destruction of government property, civil disorder, and “physical violence … involving a deadly or dangerous weapon.”
Rachel Powell speaks to the media after her release outside the DC Central Detention Facility in Washington on January 21, 2025. Powell is also known as the “Pink Hat Lady” or “Bullhorn Lady.” Kayla Bartkowski/Getty Images
In early 2024, she began serving a 57-month prison term—nearly five years—without credit for three years of house arrest.
“I can’t fathom how that’s happening in America, that citizens can have undetermined house detention,” she commented, calling the practice an injustice that must cease.
Powell’s experiences at a West Virginia prison heightened her concerns.
She was housed at the Federal Correctional Complex Hazelton—a facility where whistleblowers alleged “a pervasive culture of abuse and misconduct,” several senators
reported in September 2023.
They urged both the Attorney General and Bureau of Prisons to investigate. The Epoch Times was unable to ascertain the findings of that inquiry by publication time.
Powell claims she witnessed terrible conditions and medical neglect of inmates, reflecting the accounts from whistleblowers.
Now, Powell is determined to advocate for reforming conditions within that prison “because once you witness it, you can’t unsee it, and it would be wrong not to take action, leaving those women to suffer.”
“Doing the right thing is paramount,” she expressed—echoing her reasoning for joining the January 6 protest.
However, had she the opportunity to rewind, Powell noted she would have remained seated in protest, stating “I would have never left that public sidewalk—ever.”
After receiving a pardon, Powell is optimistic—about both the future of her country and her family.
“I have a lot of faith in our president. I genuinely think he’s a man of integrity. I believe the next four years will bring positive changes, and the time is ripe for these reforms,” she stated.
Her separation from her family has made her cherish them even more.
“We’ll emerge stronger from this experience, nurturing more love… we desire greater unity within our family,” she proclaimed.
“It’s akin to a phoenix taking rebirth from ashes… I genuinely believe it will be a beautiful transformation.”
Early-Morning Tactical Team Arrests Fiancé
Barry Ramey, a 38-year-old aircraft mechanic at the time, was enjoying life in sunny Florida and was engaged to be married.
Barry Ramey, 41, of Broward County, Florida, captured in a self-portrait at a halfway house in January 2025. Courtesy of Barry Ramey
However, at around 5:30 a.m. on April 21, 2022, as he left his apartment for work, a tactical team approached him in the parking lot, “flashbangs thrown at me, and guns pointed at me,” Ramey recalled. This was nearly 16 months after January 6, 2021—and just two months before his wedding date.
Post-arrest, Ramey acknowledged accountability for his actions, which included using pepper spray against police on that day, but described the charges and punishment as “excessive.”
“I understand I committed a crime, but I’m not a criminal… I don’t lead a criminal lifestyle,” Ramey, now 41, expressed to The Epoch Times following his pardon from Trump. He had no prior criminal
record, verified by court documents.
While awaiting news of a possible pardon, “the situation caused anxiety,” he admitted. Ramey feared he might only receive a commutation since his assault conviction marked him as a violent offender.
Connection to the Proud Boys, considered one of the most debated groups of January 6 defendants, also loomed large.
On January 6, while standing with the Proud Boys group, Ramey stated he didn’t realize their identities at the time, as per his attorney’s claims in a
court record. Subsequently, Ramey said he and several other defendants initiated a Proud Boys chapter “to support each other in perilous situations” while incarcerated.
Among the 14 offenders whose sentences Trump commuted were five Proud Boys; they were released from prison, but their convictions still appear on their records.
Ramey received a “full and unconditional” pardon.
“It feels wonderful to know I can move forward without being labeled a convicted felon,” he expressed. “I can resume being a constructive citizen and aim to improve the world I inhabit.”
In March 2023, Ramey was sentenced to five years in prison for felony charges of civil disorder and “assaulting, resisting, or obstructing certain officers,” as indicated by a Justice Department
announcement, along with misdemeanors for disorderly conduct and “physical violence” on the Capitol premises; he did not enter the building, according to his attorney
records.
Prosecutors insisted he warranted a stricter prison sentence, as he allegedly attacked police with a “deadly and dangerous weapon”—the pepper spray.
Ramey retorted, “Police regularly use it. They even get pepper-sprayed in their training, so [if] it wasn’t deemed deadly or dangerous then, why now?”
Signs showing support for the January 6 defendants in jail were displayed on vehicles outside the DC Central Detention Facility in Washington on January 21, 2025. Kayla Bartkowski/Getty Images
He expressed he’s not looking to justify his behavior, but he disagreed that his actions warranted charges that were “essentially just a step below attempted murder.”
If people “dig deeper,” he believes it would reveal unfair tactics utilized against “pretty much all of us,” and he aspires that factual reporting of additional insights will thwart similar alleged political prosecutions.
Rowland mentioned he was repeatedly confined in solitary confinement, denied necessary medical care, and served food that was moldy or infestations of bugs; his health took a turn for the worse.
Rowland conveyed their focus on rebuilding their lives, as she looks forward to booking their wedding at an impressive location: Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida.
Beyond wedding arrangements, Ramey is eager to engage politically, undeterred by his experiences following January 6.
His aim is to help “America First” groups transform Broward County from Democratic “blue” to Republican “red.”
He also remains determined to continue exposing the truth surrounding January 6.
“I believe there’s extensive misinformation that lingers over us like a cloud,” he observed.
