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As President-elect Donald Trump's inauguration nears, The Post and Courier has identified 34 South Carolinians charged with crimes related to the January 2021 Capitol riot who could be affected by mass pardons he has promised. The South Carolinians' crimes range from flooding the halls of the Capitol building as police were pushed back by the crowds to attacking officers with their own equipment, according to detailed court records for each defendant. In multiple interviews, Trump has said he would consider pardoning every defendant related to the Jan.
6, 2021, attack while also saying he would look at somebody who was "evil and bad" differently. "I am inclined to pardon many of them," Trump said during a CNN town hall in May 2023. "I can’t say for every single one because a couple of them, probably, they got out of control.
" Here's what to know. Thomas Casselman sprayed a line of officers with bear spray as others stormed the Capitol building. Benjamin Robinson admitted to kicking the door in to then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's office.
Christopher Rockey grabbed an officer's riot shield and punched the officer in the face. There are at least 34 defendants from South Carolina charged with crimes related to storming the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, according to a Post and Courier database built upon federal court records.
Less than half of the total — 14 people — have been sentenced to jail time. Most already have finished their sentences and been released, but two people remain in jail: Casselman and Tyler Dykes , who stole an officer's riot shield and used it to push the crowd ahead into the building. One defendant, Christopher George Rockey, is expected to begin his year-and-a-half in prison soon after having been recently sentenced.
Ten people were sentenced to probation but no jail time, and another 10 defendants still have not been sentenced. Use our database below of Jan. 6 Capitol riot defendants from South Carolina to learn more about their cases.
On the campaign trail, Trump has referred to the people prosecuted for their actions on January 6 as "hostages" who should be freed . Since being elected, his campaign and officials close to him have not addressed his comments to the media. When asked about his reasoning behind pardoning the rioters, Trump has said he'll look at individual cases, but generally people did not get fair trials in Washington.
"They’re living in hell, and they’re policemen, and they’re firemen, and they’re soldiers, and they’re carpenters and electricians and they’re great people," Trump said during the CNN town hall. "Many of them are just great people." It's unclear where Trump might draw the line between rioters charged with unlawfully being inside the Capitol building versus assaulting law enforcement or causing significant damage.
Attorneys for Casselman and Dykes, two defendants from South Carolina currently in prison, did not respond to requests for comment by The Post and Courier. When asked if he wanted the court to delay his client's sentencing because of Trump's election to the presidency, Rockey's attorney, Brady Vannoy, said he was "adamantly opposed to that idea." Vannoy said Rockey "wished to accept full responsibility and be sentenced accordingly.
" Some rioters in other states, like Derrick Evans from West Virginia, have said they are expecting a pardon from Trump. Typically, pardons are done on an individual basis, where the president reviews a person's case and decides whether to grant a pardon, attorneys familiar with the process told The Post and Courier. Database: South Carolina's Jan.
6 Capitol riot defendants.
