Pardoned Jan. 6 rioters are in court again over previous charges
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Pro-Trump rioters gather on Jan. 6, 2021. Photo: Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images
Some Jan. 6 rioters pardoned or granted clemency by President Trump in a sweeping presidential order must now grapple with separate charges ranging from sexual abuse to domestic violence.
The big picture: Trump granted about 1,500 pardons and 14 sentence commutations to rioters, whom he considered "patriots."
State of play: In January, NPR identified dozens of defendants with prior convictions or pending charges for rape, sexual abuse of a minor, domestic violence, manslaughter, child sexual abuse material, drug trafficking and other crimes.
- Jan. 6-related charges ranged from misdemeanors, like trespassing, to felony charges, like assaulting law enforcement officers or engaging in seditious conspiracy.
Jan. 6 rioters latest criminal updates
Andrew Taake, a 36-year-old Houston man, was arrested on Thursday an outstanding sex crime charge, the Harris County District Attorney said.
- He was charged in 2016 with online solicitation of a minor. He allegedly sent sexually explicit messages to an undercover law enforcement officer posing as a 15-year-old girl, per the Texas Tribune.
Matthew Huttle of Indiana was fatally shot during a traffic stop on Jan. 26, days after he was pardoned by Trump, multiple outlets reported.
- He was killed by a Jasper County sheriff's deputy while possessing a firearm. He was prohibited from carrying the weapon because of felony convictions.
- His criminal history included intoxicated driving and a battery case on his son.
Emily Hernandez was sentenced on Jan. 29 in Missouri state court to 10 years in prison for a 2022 drunk driving crash that killed a woman in another car and seriously injured the woman's husband, multiple outlets reported.
- She pleaded guilty that year to Jan. 6 charges, as well as driving while intoxicated, causing the death of another partner and causing serious physical injury.
Daniel Ball, rearrested on federal gun charges, has a bond hearing in Florida on Monday, per his lawyer George Pallas.
- The charge predates Jan. 6, 2021, but emerged from his involvement in the insurrection, the Guardian reported.
Other criminal records
Theodore Middendorf was charged in Illinois for predatory criminal sexual assault of a child, per records obtained by NPR. He pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 19 years in prison.
- He is registered as a sex offender in Indiana for the crimes against a 7 year old in 2018.
Peter Schwartz had a "jaw-dropping criminal history of 38 prior convictions going back to 1991," prosecutors said.
- The convictions included assault with a deadly weapon, battery, terroristic threats and domestic violence.
- His now-scrubbed Jan. 6 sentence of 14 years was among the highest of defendants.
Go deeper: The most notorious Jan. 6 defendants pardoned by Trump
Editor's note: This story has been updated with added charges.
