Former “MAGA” grandma rejects Trump’s pardon

Convicted Capitol stormer

Former “MAGA” grandma rejects Trump’s pardon

A Capitol stormer firmly rejects Trump’s pardon: She does not want to be part of a reinterpretation of the events of January 6, 2021.

Immediately after taking office, US President Donald Trump pardoned around 1,500 people who were involved in the storming of the US Capitol on January 6, 2021. The allegations against these people ranged from resistance to state authority to attacks against police officers. Among the people were the leading members of right-wing extremist militias who were sentenced to long prison terms and were accused of particularly serious crimes such as “seditious conspiracy”.

While many of them have now been released from prison thanks to Trump’s pardon and are celebrating their regained freedom, one of the convicts has expressed criticism of Trump’s actions. Pamela Hemphill, who became known in the media as the “Maga” grandma, said she would not accept the pardon. His supporters acted “wrong” when they stormed the Congress building on January 6th. The abbreviation “MAGA” refers to supporters of Trump’s “Make America Great Again” movement.

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“Accepting a pardon would only be an insult to the Capitol Police officers, the rule of law and of course our nation,” Hemphill told the BBC. “We did wrong that day. We broke the law. There should be no pardons.”

The storming of the Capitol by fanatical Trump supporters is considered one of the darkest chapters in the history of US democracy. At that time, Trump did not accept his defeat in the presidential election against Joe Biden, then caused chaos and spread false claims of election fraud. Fanatical Trump supporters overran barriers, brutally beat police officers and forced their way into the Parliament building as Trump stood idly by. As a result of the riots, five people died.

The 71-year-old Hemphill, who comes from the state of Idaho, pleaded guilty in court in 2022 to protests in front of the Capitol. The public prosecutor’s office had accused her of “continuously placing herself at the forefront of violence.” According to a report by “Spiegel,” the then 68-year-old posted on Facebook: “The planned Trump rally on January 6th won’t be FUN, it’s a WAR!” Hemphill was sentenced to 60 days in jail, three years probation and $500 in restitution.

Now she says in an interview with the US broadcaster CNN: “I pleaded guilty because I was guilty, and if I agreed to a pardon, it would also serve to support the gaslighting and misrepresentations,” said Hemphill . “They’re trying to rewrite history and say January 6 wasn’t a riot. And I don’t want to be part of that. It was a riot. It was a riot.”

Hemphill also dismissed the claim that the Justice Department is being used as a weapon against Trump supporters, saying: “Actually, I had a wonderful judge,” she said, “and I’m glad I didn’t get a longer sentence, but I want to have nothing to do with a pardon.”

Hemphill says she was never particularly political. In an interview with “Spiegel” in 2024, she talked about a difficult childhood and an eventful life that was marked by poverty, violence and abuse. Later, in retirement, loneliness came. One day she discovered the “Maga Girls,” a group of right-wing women, in Idaho’s capital Boise. She joined them and began live-streaming their rallies on her cell phone.

“I quickly had a lot of followers,” said Hemphill in the interview. “I became addicted to drama. Maga is a single drama. It’s like a shot of heroin. Just the way they talk. Scary stories,” said Hemphill to “Spiegel”. Hemphill later joined the anti-state movement “People’s Rights”, which was founded by right-wing extremist activist Ammon Bundy in Idaho. As “Spiegel” reports, this was also her “gateway drug,” which later led to her involvement in the storming of the Capitol.