President Donald Trump fulfilled a campaign promise. On the day of his inauguration, he pardoned more than 1,500 people convicted for their roles in the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol. That includes roughly a dozen people from the Pittsburgh area.
>>> Trump issues sweeping pardon of supporters charged in the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol attack
Rachel Powell is a Mercer County mother of eight, also known as the pink hat lady. She is infamous for the hat she wore while swinging a pipe and shattering a window at the Capitol building. She talked to CNN from the Preston County, WV prison where she’s serving five years. She says she’s confident she will be released and when that time comes, she plans to head straight to the Liberty Ball.
“For me, it’s huge; for me, it’s life or death,” Powell said. “I do have remorse for breaking a window and destroying my whole family’s life.”
Tristan Sartor from Westmoreland County was federally charged. He’s out on bond and thanked the President on X, writing, “Time to toast to freedom and justice for the J6 Patriots who bravely served their country when nobody else would.”
Dr. John Cencich is a professor of criminology at PennWest University. He studies people’s behaviors. He says there’s no debating the violence on Jan. 6
“There were police officers - there were hundreds of police officers who were injured - police officers who died,” Dr. Cencich tells Channel 11. “There were civilians who died. It was a violent day.”
Cencich says what happens after folks are pardoned by President Trump, and released from prison or probation, will likely be a mixed bag.
“Some of these people were involved in crimes and had criminal backgrounds,” Cencich added. “Several of them did. Some of them got caught up in emotions. Some of them got caught up in really being naive.”
Dr. Cencich says in his experience, some of those convicted will be emboldened under certain circumstances and possibly re-offend, while others are remorseful. There are even folks who have indicated they will not accept a pardon.
“They really have remorse for what they did,” Cencich added. “If they’re not going to accept a pardon, they are very likely not going to re-offend.”
We reached out to Powell’s attorney. He did not respond to our calls.
It’s common for presidents to pardon people in their final days in office. Former President Joe Biden exercised his executive power, pardoning Dr. Anthony Fauci, his own siblings and their spouses and the House Committee investigating January 6. Biden says this is to prevent any revenge on the part of President Trump.
Download the FREE WPXI News app for breaking news alerts.
Follow Channel 11 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch WPXI NOW
©2025 Cox Media Group
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/cmg/XCUXZC2XYZHCRGNNGKFEX6U3LQ.png)
