Alleged Capitol rioters argue Trump owes them pardons

Suspects say they entered Capitol at president’s ‘invitation’

WASHINGTON — They launched their assault on the U.S. Capitol with impunity, livestreaming their crimes and posing for photos as they breached the building’s perimeter and threatened the democratic process. Now members of the pro-Trump mob are arguing they shouldn’t be held to account.

Speaking through defense lawyers or in interviews, the alleged rioters argued they did nothing illegal. They couldn’t have been trespassing, they say, because they entered the Capitol at the “invitation” of President Trump, following his direct orders. Capitol police also held the doors open for them, they assert, basically ushering them into the building’s hallowed halls. Even so, knowing that time is running out on Trump’s presidency, they are also making a last-minute case for clemency to avert prosecution, appealing to the man who allegedly incited them to act.

“I would like a pardon from the president of the United States,” said Jenna Ryan, a Texas real estate agent charged in the storming of the Capitol, in an interview with CBS News late last week. “I think that we all deserve a pardon. I’m facing a prison sentence. I think that I do not deserve that.”

Adam Newbold, a retired U.S. Navy SEAL, told ABC News that he was seeking “clemency” after posting a Facebook video boasting about “breaching the Capitol,” which brought FBI agents to his door for an interview.

“I would like to express to you just a cry for clemency, as you understand that my life now has been absolutely turned upsidedown,” Newbold said.

An attorney for Jacob Chansley — the man who entered the Capitol wearing horns and carrying a spear — said on CNN that his client also deserves a pardon, as he was only in the Capitol because he had “hitched his wagon” to Trump and felt he was answering a “call” from the president to go there.

“The words and invitation of a president are supposed to mean something,” said the attorney, Albert Watkins.