Several New Yorkers arrested for taking part in the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol are hoping President-elect Donald Trump makes good on his campaign promise to pardon at least some of them after he returns to the Oval Office next week.
One of them is Brandon Fellows from the Schenectady region, who was convicted by a jury in August 2023. He told Spectrum News he wants a commutation from Trump.
Fellows regularly attends a nightly vigil outside the Washington, D.C. jail, designed to raise awareness about the Jan. 6 defendants. Fellows was himself once detained in the jail.
“If I could go back knowing all that I know, I'd like to warn people: ‘Hey, it's a giant setup. They want this to happen,’” he said of the Capitol attack.
Prosecutors say Fellows entered the U.S. Capitol building on Jan. 6 through a broken window, waved a Trump flag and smoked marijuana in a senator’s office.
In his interview with Spectrum News, he showed little remorse.
“Sen. Jeff Merkley, whose office I was in — I haven't gotten a thank you from him for my lungs taking the sacrifice of those two hits,” he said. “Instead of the smoke going up to the ceiling, my lungs filtered it for him.”
The rioters on Jan. 6 aimed to block Congress from certifying Joe Biden’s victory in the 2020 election.
Me: If Trump does not commute your sentence, does that change your impression of him?
— Kevin Frey (@KevinFreyTV) January 16, 2025
Jan 6 defendant: No, he could just ignore me for the rest of my life, and I will still think ... he did a great job. Honestly, I think he's the best president since Abraham Lincoln. pic.twitter.com/5CmoDZIIaH
Fellows is one of at least 35 New Yorkers charged in connection to the Capitol attack. Some pleaded guilty, while others were convicted.
The New York defendants include members of the far-right Proud Boys, former NYPD officers and the son of a New York City judge. Prosecutors accuse the New Yorkers of everything from assaulting law enforcement, to directing rioters, to theft.
Some New Yorkers still inside the D.C. jail called in to Monday night’s vigil, voicing confidence that Trump will step in.
“We know what’s going to happen, and we’re all going to be good,” one said over the phone, their comment projected on a loudspeaker.
All told, about 1,600 people have been charged federally in connection with the Jan. 6 riot. More than 1,000 have pleaded guilty, and more than 200 have been found guilty at trial, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.
Trump has not said who might receive a pardon or other forms of clemency. He has offered mixed signals whether those charged with violent acts would be among those receiving relief.
Democrats on Capitol Hill say pardons would be outrageous.
“It would send a message to the country and to the world that those who use force to get their way will not be punished,” Sen. Chuck Schumer said. “It is wrong, it is reckless, and it would be an insult to the memory of those who died in connection to that day.”
Some New York Republicans expressed some openness to Trump getting involved.
“We’ll see individually what the president winds up doing,” said Long Island Congressman Nick LaLota, adding that Biden has issued "a lot of dubious" pardons in recent weeks.
“If somebody committed an act of violence on Jan. 6, or broke the law, then no, I don’t think they should receive a pardon,” Hudson Valley Rep. Mike Lawler said. “If somebody was unfortunately wrongly prosecuted in some way, then let the facts bare themselves out and the president certainly should look at that.”
Fellows believes he deserves clemency, but says his impression of Trump would not change if the president-elect does not end up commuting his sentence.
“I'm not going to hold it to a personal level if he didn't, but I think he will,” he said.
“He could just ignore me for the rest of my life, and I will still think, at least — we’ve got the next term to see how he does - he did a great job,” he added “Honestly, I think he's the best president since Abraham Lincoln.”