Five years after the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, scrutiny is intensifying over President Donald Trump’s sweeping pardons for many of the rioters convicted in connection with the assault — particularly as a growing number of those pardoned have since been arrested or charged with new crimes.
According to a December 2025 analysis by the watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), at least 33 pardoned January 6 defendants have been rearrested, charged, or sentenced in unrelated criminal cases since the Capitol attack. Several of those offenses allegedly occurred after Trump granted clemency to roughly 1,500 defendants upon returning to office in January 2025.
Among the most prominent cases is Zachary Alam, one of the most violent rioters convicted in the Capitol attack. Alam, who had originally been sentenced to eight years in prison for assaulting police and smashing windows near the House chamber, was pardoned by Trump in 2025. Earlier this month, a Virginia judge sentenced him to seven years in prison after he was convicted of burglary and grand larceny tied to a home invasion near Richmond.
Another pardoned rioter, Ryan Nichols — a former Marine who once livestreamed threats of violence during the Capitol attack — was arrested again in Texas this month after authorities said he threatened a man with a handgun during a dispute outside a church. Nichols had previously served time for assaulting police officers with pepper spray during the January 6 riot before receiving Trump’s pardon.
CBS News also reported this year on the arrest of Jonathan Munafo, another pardoned Capitol defendant accused of violating supervised release conditions connected to a separate federal threats case.
Critics of the pardons argue the growing number of repeat offenders demonstrates the risks of blanket clemency for individuals involved in political violence. Supporters of Trump, meanwhile, continue to argue many January 6 prosecutions were politically motivated and say the pardons corrected what they see as unfair treatment by the justice system.
Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee have repeatedly highlighted the issue, pointing to new arrests involving offenses ranging from burglary and domestic violence to child exploitation charges.