Five Trump-Pardoned January 6 Defendants Face New Criminal Accusations

At least five people pardoned by President Trump for their roles in the 6 January 2021 US Capitol attack have been accused of committing new crimes, The Guardian reported. Ryan Nichols, 35, became the latest such individual on 10 May when authorities in Harleton, Texas, say he threateningly displayed a handgun to a person with whom he was arguing in a church parking lot.

Harrison County sheriff’s office deputies responded to a complaint about a person reaching for a firearm during a dispute outside the church in Harleton, Texas, on 10 May 2026.

The alleged victim reported turning away from Nichols, trying to usher his family to their car, and asking Nichols to go away. The alleged victim stated that Nichols then raised his shirt, showed a gun, and wrapped his hand around the weapon’s grip. The alleged victim stated he was in fear for his life due to Nichols displaying the gun.

Nichols was arrested on a count of deadly conduct on 10 May 2026. He was also booked on unrelated warrants alleging harassment. County jail records show Nichols was released from county jail two days after his 10 May 2026 arrest on $8,000 bond.

Nichols had pleaded guilty in November 2023 to charges connected to the 6 January 2021 Capitol attack. He acknowledged attacking officers with pepper spray during the 6 January 2021 Capitol riot. Nichols made a video during the riot in which he said: “It’s going to be violent and … if you are asking, ‘Is Ryan Nichols going to bring violence?

’” A federal judge sentenced Nichols to five years and three months in prison for his January 6 offences. President Trump unconditionally pardoned Nichols along with 1,500 other January 6 participants on the first day of his second presidency in January 2025. Nichols declared his intent to run for a seat in Congress in April 2025.

He later announced he was withdrawing from the congressional race. Nichols stated: “My heart is in the right place. ” A database maintained by Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington first published in December listed more than 30 people who attacked the Capitol who were pardoned by Trump but face criminal charges in other cases.

Of those on the Crew list prior to Nichols’ arrest, four had been accused of crimes reported after President Trump pardoned them. One of those four was Christopher Moynihan, who pleaded guilty in February in New York to a harassment charge over threats to kill Hakeem Jeffries. Moynihan was sentenced to three years’ probation.

Another from that group was Zachary Alam, who was sentenced on 7 May to seven years in prison after a jury convicted him of burglary in Virginia.