By John Schwing
WESTPORT — A Westport man, who pleaded guilty to a federal charge filed in connection with his role in the riot at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, is among roughly 1,500 people pardoned Monday night by newly sworn-in President Donald Trump.
In a White House proclamation declaring the action “ends a grave national injustice that has been perpetrated upon the American people over the last four years and begins a process of national reconciliation,” Trump specifically commuted the sentences of 14 people convicted of crimes that day.
In another proviso, Trump also granted “complete and unconditional pardon to all other individuals convicted of offenses related to events that occurred at or near the United States Capitol on January 6, 2021.”
That group would include Benjamin Cohen, who was 21 when he was arrested at his Bayberry Ridge Road home on Aug. 9, 2023, and charged with a series of federal felony and misdemeanor crimes.
A detailed list of those granted pardons was not immediately available, but the resolution’s language appears to forgive all criminal records for about 1,500 others arrested and convicted of various offenses after a mob stormed the Capitol trying to stop certification of Joe Biden’s 2020 election victory over Trump.
The sweeping pardons were not unexpected. During the 2024 election campaign, Trump repeatedly described those charged as the “J6 hostages” and “political prisoners.” The pardons take effect immediately.
Last July, Cohen and federal prosecutors reached a plea deal, under which he agreed to plead guilty to a single felony charge of assaulting, resisting or impeding certain officers.
And just last week, Cohen was sentenced to five years probation, six months of home confinement and ordered to pay $2,000 in restitution, according to a report by New Haven television station WTNH.
He is one of 13 Connecticut residents charged for their roles in the riot, who are believed to be absolved by Trump’s pardons.
Cohen faced charges after prosectors said he joined the crowd that stormed the U.S. Capitol the afternoon of Jan. 6, 2021, and at one point, pushed and shoved police officers defending the building against the attack.
He had driven with his mother to attend the Jan. 6 rally supporting then-President Donald Trump, after which many in that crowd marched on the Capitol.
Cohen’s mother told investigators she became separated from her son outside the perimeter of the Capitol, which was surrounded by a barricade of bike racks, snow fencing and Capitol and Metropolitan police officers.
Federal prosecutors alleged that Cohen assaulted officers on the perimeter outside the west side of the Capitol, and joined others in a “heave-ho” breach of the west terrace tunnel leading into the building.
“Video footage shows Cohen standing in the crowd of rioters, where he can be heard shouting, “Our House!” the federal complaint states.
Cohen was not taken into custody at the time, but several of his photos in the Capitol crowd were published by the FBI seeking information about the then-unidentified suspect.
In 2022, the FBI acted on a tip that the young man in the photos might be Cohen, and compared the images with his driver’s license photo on file with the state Department of Motor Vehicles.
A former co-worker later confirmed Cohen’s identity.
In January 2023, federal authorities interviewed the Cohen family at their Westport home.
“Cohen’s father explained that Cohen traveled to Washington, D.C., with his mother on January 6, 2021, in order to attend the political rally taking place that day,” according to a statement attached to the 2023 federal complaint filed against Cohen.
After the rally, the statement continued, “Cohen admitted that he joined a crowd on the front steps of the building and got ‘tear gassed.’ Cohen’s mother confirmed that she traveled with Cohen to D.C. for the rally and stated that she lost contact with Cohen after they reached the Capitol grounds’ outer barriers and Cohen proceeded closer to the Capitol building.”
Reacting to Trump’s pardons, U.S. Rep. Jim Himes, D-4, whose district includes Westport, issued the following statement:
“Donald Trump knows as well as I do that the Jan. 6 rioters were not peaceful protestors or tourists, but violent insurrectionists who attacked Capitol police and called for the hanging of their own vice president.
“His decision to pardon them is a grotesque abuse of authority and a betrayal of the office he now holds.”
John Schwing, interim editor of the Westport Journal, has held senior editorial and writing posts at southwestern Connecticut media outlets for four decades. Learn more about us here.
The next time someone tells you that the GOP believes in law and order…
I havent read the proclamation, supposedly, anyone accused of violence will remain unpardoned. People who were just walking around and convicted, 1500 of them, were pardoned. The idea is that in America we have the right to protest without the fear of jail. Obviously, in this case there is a spectrum from just watching and protesting to commiting acts of violence, nobody wants political violence. But in America we have the right to march around. One case is an anecdot. Personally, i dont think it was a coup d’état because no weapons were used. The january 6 trials in congress were a clear witch hunt, aimed at scaring people from supporting trump, obviously
Amen
I don’t know. Radical idea here: Maybe read the thing before you comment? Know before you blow.
I dont have read it, i already know everything and my opinions can never change. I am concrete. My brain has lost all plasticity. I dont learn new things. I live in a bubble. I never interact with people wuth differeing opinions. I dont read. I just look at the headline a regurgitate propaganda. I am brainwashed by maga
I doubt this will change Todd or Sharon’s minds, but here are some of the people convicted of violence on Jan. 6, who, according to NPR, received “full, complete and unconditional” pardons from Trump:
David Dempsey was convicted of repeatedly assaulting police officers with pepper spray, a metal crutch and wooden and metal poles. “For over one hour, defendant David Dempsey viciously assaulted and injured police officers,” federal prosecutors wrote. Metropolitan Police Department Detective Phuson Nguyen testified that after Dempsey pepper sprayed him, he was knocked down, and “I thought that’s, you know, where I’m going to die. And in my head, you know, I was thinking about my family at that point before anything else.” Dempsey was sentenced to 20 years in prison.
Julian Khater pleaded guilty to pepper spraying Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick in the face. Later that night, Sicknick collapsed and was rushed to the hospital. He died the following day. According to the Washington, D.C. medical examiner, Sicknick’s death was due to “natural causes” — two strokes — but “all that transpired played a role in his condition.” Sicknick’s mother, Gladys, spoke at Khater’s sentencing hearing. “Lawlessness, misplaced loyalty to a deranged autocratic ideal, and hate killed my son,” she told the court. “And I hope you are haunted by your crimes behind bars. Whatever jail time you receive is not enough in my eyes.” Khater was sentenced to more than six years in prison.
Christian Matthew Manley pleaded guilty to assaulting police with two cans of bear spray, and throwing an empty canister at officers. Manley then threw a metal rod at officers. Federal judge Tanya Chutkan told Manley at his sentencing hearing that, “there has to be an understanding that participating, taking up arms against law enforcement, taking up arms to basically try and overthrow the government, is going to be met with severe punishment.” Manley was sentenced to more than four years in prison.
Patrick Edward McCaughey III was convicted of using a police riot shield to “crush” Metropolitan Police Officer Daniel Hodges in a metal doorframe, leaving Hodges trapped, bleeding and crying for help from his fellow officers. “If I was there much longer being assaulted in such a way, I knew that it was very likely I wouldn’t be able to maintain my consciousness,” Hodges testified. “Your actions on January 6 were some of the most egregious crimes that were committed that day,” federal judge Trevor McFadden told McCaughey before sentencing him to more than seven years in prison.
Ryan Nichols pleaded guilty to pepper spraying police officers and urging rioters through a bullhorn to storm the building. “This is not a peaceful protest,” he yelled, according to prosecutors. “If you have a weapon, you need to get your weapon!” Later that night, Nichols recorded a video of himself calling for a second American Revolution and stating, “if you want to know where Ryan Nichols stands, Ryan Nichols stands for violence.” Nichols was sentenced to more than five years in prison.
Christopher Quaglin was convicted at trial of “viciously assaulting police officers for hours,” according to federal prosecutors. “On at least a dozen occasions, Quaglin stood face-to-face with officers as he screamed at, pushed with outstretched arms, punched, swatted, and slapped officers; pushed bike racks into officers; and even choked one officer to the ground,” prosecutors stated. Quaglin was sentenced to 12 years in prison.
Daniel Rodriguez pleaded guilty to using a stun gun and “plunging it” multiple times into a police officer Michael Fanone’s neck, in the words of prosecutors, leading Fanone to scream out in pain. “During those moments, I remember thinking that there was a very good chance that I would be torn apart or be shot to death with my own weapon,” Fanone testified to Congress. Rodriguez was sentenced to more than 12 years in prison.
Peter Schwartz was convicted of stealing pepper spray from police officers, distributing the canisters to other rioters and “indiscriminately” spraying law enforcement, according to prosecutors. Court documents from the Justice Department described him as a “a welder by trade and a felon who has racked up numerous convictions for drugs, weapons, and violence over the last three decades.” The day after the riot, he allegedly posted on Facebook, “What happened yesterday was the opening of a war. I was there and whether people will acknowledge it or not we are now at war.” Schwartz was sentenced to more than 14 years in prison.
They should be put in prison for acts of violence, political or otherwise. I have zero tolerance for violence–save for self defence.
But Trump pardoned them and you defended the Trump pardons. Do you think that you should you have looked into things before posting the knee-jerk defense of Trump?
I feel like I should be nicer now, but what about the pardon of Ross Ulbricht, who had been sentenced to life in prison. He created the Silk Road website, a veritable eBay for illegal drugs, illegal guns, and child pornography.
Trump said that his only crime was “being a libertarian” which is, funnily, one of few things anyone could say that makes libertarians look worse than they already do. Is access to illegal drugs, guns, and child porn part of the libertarian ideal, deserving of protection from persecution? Because that is apparently what your guy Trump thinks.
Never start a sentence with ” dont you think you should have…..” because noone will listen to you.