Jason Riddle, one of the people who took part in the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, says he does not want President Donald Trump’s pardon. He’s now trying to formally reject it.
“I caused a lot of hurt by being down there. I hurt a lot of people along the way, I said a lot of nasty things,” Riddle, a Navy veteran, told WMUR-TV in an exclusive interview. “I have to acknowledge that reality, and part of that is not taking any sort of pardon or pass or anything from Trump that denies that reality, because once you do that, I’m right back where I started.”
Riddle was caught drinking wine during the riot and stole a book about Senate rules. He pleaded guilty, was sentenced to 90 days in jail, and given three years of probation.
After Trump’s pardon announcement, Riddle said he would not accept it. On Monday, he said he has asked Senator Maggie Hassan’s office to help him officially refuse the pardon.
Riddle tried to reject the pardon on his own by emailing the Pardon Office, but now he realizes he needs help from Congress to make it official.
“Today, they officially reached out to the Pardon Office and asked for them to put the official letter,” Riddle said.
Senator Hassan’s team confirmed they contacted the Pardon Office for Riddle.
Riddle said he believed Trump lost the 2020 election fairly but joined the January 6 crowd to support him. He used to go to Trump rallies often and felt connected to other supporters.
“I clearly was obsessed with Trump. I was mentally being held hostage to something that was just sucking me dry,” Riddle said.
He says he deserved to go to jail for what he did and that he is now sober and changed. Refusing the pardon is his way of owning up to what happened.
“This was a horrible thing that happened, and I deserve to go to prison, and so does Donald Trump. He still deserves to go to prison for having caused that. I think maybe one day he will,” Riddle said.
